EUPHORIC EFFECTS OF GENEROSITY, PART TWO

EUPHORIC EFFECTS OF GENEROSITY, PART TWO Proverbs 11:25; 22:9; 2 Corinthians 9:12-15; Matthew 5:13-16; Philippians 2:15-16; Colossians 4:5-6; Acts 4:31-37 June 10, 2007 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction A man was arrested when caught stealing a loaf of bread. A strict justice system had him in court quickly. The judge investigated the man’s situation and found that he had no job and his family was hungry. He had honestly tried to find work, but unsuccessfully. Desperate because his family was hungry, he tried to steal a loaf of bread. The judge said, “I’m sorry, but the law can make no exceptions. You stole. Therefore I have to punish you, and I order you to pay a fine of $10.” He continued, “But I want to pay the fine myself.” He reached into his wallet, pulled out a $10 bill, and handed it to the man, who gave it to the bailiff. “Now,” said the judge, “I also want to remit the fine” (meaning the money should be given back to the man). “Furthermore, I am going to ask the bailiff to pass his hat around the courtroom, because I am fining everyone in this room 50 cents for living in a city where a man has to steal in order to have bread to eat.” Most gave far more than the half-dollar they were fined, and the defendant was given the money and released from custody. That reminds me of God: he forgives, pays our debt, gives us more than we deserve and sends us out with our pockets full to be good stewards. Generosity is our theme in this two week series entitled Euphoric Effects of Generosity. Last Sunday we considered generosity from the teaching of Proverbs and 2 Corinthians. I want to ask you to stand and let us read the passages aloud together, reading them as projected on the screen. ***Congregational reading, slides 2 through 10 There are 4 categories of euphoric effects of generosity. The first is that when someone gives generously, good comes to that giver. There is a divine sense of satisfaction and even joy in the heart of one who has voluntarily been generous to others in their need. In fact, there is no higher sense of personal fulfillment we human beings can experience, than when we are generous. He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25) In addition to these feelings joy and satisfaction, the generous giver also has God’s promised that he will prosper. This is counter-intuitive when we think in worldly terms, because we know in our limited carnal minds that if you give it away, you won’t have it any more, and the way to prosper is to hoard every penny you can. But God insists that it is those who are generous with their possessions who will receive even greater financial blessings. Ravi Zacharias tells the story of a boy in India whose hand was stuck in a very expensive vase. No one could remove it, so the vase, worth hundreds of dollars had to be broken. When it was it was discovered that the boy’s hand couldn’t come out because it was closed in a fist. In his fist he was holding the smallest value Indian coin, worth about an American dime. When our hands are closed in order to keep the little we have, neither can it be open to receive the greater reward God have for those whose hands are open in the act of generosity to others. Brothers and sisters, we should always hold loosely what we have now, willing to share it generously, so that our hands will be open to receive God’s blessings. The second sphere of euphoric effect of generosity, of course, is when God’s people are generous, good comes to the recipients of that generosity. Obviously the person being helped through the generosity of others is blessed. Several dynamics are at work—they are helped in a time of need. Their sense of identification with the donors is strengthened. They are motivated to give thanks and praise the Lord for what He has done through His generous people. And God gives to the recipient an opportunity to testify to His faithfulness to them through the generosity of His people, thus glorifying His name. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers (2 Corinthians 9:12) whose generosity was blessing the Jerusalem believers, This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. When he says “many expressions of thanks to God,” he is referring to the fact that the recipients are grateful and thank God; the donors are grateful and thank God; and others who hear their thanks are also grateful and thank God. No wonder David declares: I will give thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you. (Psalm 35:18) Seven years ago a dear member of this congregation donated one of her kidneys to another member who was slowly dying from kidney failure. Those who were around during those days remember the quiet but sincere thanks given to God, not only by the recipient, who continues to benefit from that healthy kidney to this day, but also by the donor, who rejoiced at the opportunity to serve that brother in Christ. What you might not know is that several times I ran into people from other churches, even from out of state, who would say how encouraged they were when they heard of that generous act. So there were many expressions of thanksgiving, not to mention the witness borne by a generous act. Like waves rippling out from the point of impact when a rock is dropped into water, so more people are stirred to give thanks to God than we’ll ever know when generosity is practiced among God’s people. As Paul traveled around the Roman empire and shared the story of the Macedonians’ generosity toward the Jerusalem saints, thousands of others were stirred to gratitude and praise before God. There is a third group who benefit from the generosity of God’s people – the unsaved community around the church. Ram Cnaan wrote a fascinating book entitled The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare. Cnaan is an Israeli-born, secularist Jew, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He did extensive research into the effect of churches in the communities of America. He concludes that the conservative Christian churches are "a major power for our society." He says the neighborhood church is the greatest resource American communities have. The presence of churches, where the biblical faith is believed and practiced, brings to the surrounding community not only the social services of care, benevolence and counseling, but also the intangibles of security, spiritual influence, help during crises and loving community for anyone who will accept it. Cnaan says the congregation is "the neighborhood's last, best hope." This is what Jesus meant when He said we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Christian you are a positive influence in a negative and dark world. Stay salty and bright! He goes on to say "the economic value of the congregational contribution to the quality of life in America is staggering. As a key part of the nation's social safety net . . . congregations allot a significant percentage of their budgets to helping others and are the major source for volunteer recruitment in urban America. In fact, one could say that our society is subsidized by congregations to a far greater extent than these same congregations are subsidized by the tax exempt status granted by our society." Interestingly, this author says that the net value of the average congregational community (and the average size of American churches is 60) and the services it usually extends to the community averages $15,307 per month. No wonder our nation's attention is being drawn to unsung heroes of American health and community through "faith-based initiatives". Churches do it best. Writes Cnaan: "Clergy and congregants should learn to be proud of what they are providing for others. No one else does it so happily and so on their own." Another study, by Christian Smith at Duke University corroborates Cnaan's work. That researcher insists that no one does as good a job at helping people as the local congregation of Christian people in a community, and nobody does it cheaper. The community around us benefits through your generosity in the church. Finally, the Kingdom of God benefits through the generosity of God’s people. Your giving through MECF advances the work of the kingdom, both locally and globally. But your GENEROUS giving through MECF advances the work of the kingdom even farther, faster and better. But what is generous giving? How much is generous? If you're asking that question you're doing a lot better than those who ask, "What am I required to give?" Pastor Bob Russell of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, shares a helpful illustration: "When my first son was born, we were blessed to have an excellent baby sitter who lived next door. Patty not only baby-sat, she washed dishes, folded clothes, and looked for ways to help around the house. She was dependable, and my son loved her. "When she first started babysitting, I asked Patty how much she charged, and she said, 'Fifty cents an hour.' (Obviously this was a long time ago!) I gladly paid that amount. "A few years later our second son arrived, and I said, 'Patty, your responsibilities have increased significantly now. What do you charge for taking care of two children?' "By this time we had a good relationship, and she said, 'Oh, Mr. Russell, just give me what you want to give.' "Do you think I gave more or less than 50 cents an hour?" In the Old Testament, God commanded his people to tithe-10 percent of their crops and flocks were returned to God. In our era he has given us Jesus Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the fellowship of the church, the privilege of living in the most affluent nation in the world, plus so many personal blessings. Yet when we ask how much we should give, he just says, 'Give as you have been prospered.' You decide whether that should be more or less than a tithe." As Bob Russell says, "Christians want to be generous. Listen, when you are a wise steward it honors God, relieves tension, gives you self-confidence, eliminates guilt, enhances your witness, and enables you to give more generously, It benefits you, your church, your neighbors and the Kingdom of your God. I'm not talking about fundraising, but about a better stewardship of life." Are you generous? Are you as generous as you want to be? Are you as generous as you believe God wants you to be? Practical Suggestions 1. Budget for generosity. Set aside an extra category in your personal budget just to have a generous response when a special need comes up. 2. Change jar. Drop your change in a jar and cash it in when full. Use that money you won’t miss to be generous toward someone who is in a genuine need. 3. Anonymous mailing. Send a card to someone with a need, drop in $100, and address it left-handed. 4. When you give an offering for a special need, don’t make it part of your regular tithes and offerings to the church. The budget is based on regular giving. 5. Band with a couple other people in your Life Group who alone can’t give much in a time of need. Decide to fold your smaller gifts into a larger one. 6. Buy a small life insurance policy with the church as the beneficiary (or a mission you’re fond of). Check with your accountant—I am fairly certain premiums are deductible as charitable donations. 7. Cottage industry—from selling homemade craft items to home services, or whatever your talents and skills lend themselves to. Dedicate all or part of the proceeds to God or a particular mission/ministry project. 8. Give up a week’s vacation in order to take a mission trip to be an encouragement to a missionary or missions team somewhere. Can’t go? Send another. 9. Do as Barnabas did—sell something you don’t absolutely need—land, equipment, business—and give the proceeds to a special need. 10. Start a trust with a sizable donation the interest from which could help send another missionary to Niger or Brazil, or a young ministry candidate to seminary. 11. Give of your time, talent or treasure generously to help a missionary, mission agency, as a forwarding agent, fund-raising agent or home country representative. 12. Maybe you’re good at investments. Set up a special portfolio of investments as a charitable trust for ministry involved in kingdom work. 13. Perhaps you are being challenged by the Holy Spirit to give more generously of your time in an area of outreach or discipleship. Make your commitment today to stop procrastinating over it and take the plunge. 14. Could be one or more of us has been hoarding our skills and talents rather than generously offering your gifts to the Lord to use as He will. 15. It might be that God is calling you simply to be more generous in your general support of the church, and you feel the Spirit of God urging you to increase your giving, to bring your giving up to the level of a tithe, or you’ve been tithing and it’s time to move on to more. Whatever it might be, I would urge you to decisively move in the direction of being more generous. Your generosity as a servant of the Lord, is able to bring God-honoring, people-helping and self-satisfying results. Your generosity . . . . . . Blesses you by bringing more of God’s blessings to your open hand and heart. Blesses others by directly helping them in a time of real need. Nothing is more satisfying than knowing you have been used of God in meeting a genuine need. Blesses even the unsaved community around us by being Christ-like examples of generous grace. Blesses the church and God’s kingdom at large through generous support of ministry and mission projects. Conclusion Old man Potter was stingy, grasping and self-serving. Frank Capra, the director of the film It’s a Wonderful Life, went to great lengths to make us viewers detest this miserly meanie with his greedy hands and his icy heart. And Lionel Barrymore worked his acting skills well to make Mr. Potter a repulsive man. We all wanted to be like George Bailey, the lovable character played by Jimmy Stewart. Why? He was kind and generous, that’s why. And that’s why the world sits up and takes notice of the true heroes in our hedonistic, materialistic, consumptive world—the generous people. The Ronsville report agrees with recent Gallup Polls that Americans give an average of just less than 2% to charitable causes, while a full 31% say they give nothing at all. People who do give generously to charity are not usually those who can most easily afford to. In fact, the most generous givers are those whose income is less than $20,00/year. The weakest givers? Those who make between $75 and $100,000/year. Time magazine reported they averaged only 1.6% charitable giving. They also showed that those who made less than $10,000/year averaged giving over 5.5% of their earnings away to church and charity. Conservative evangelical Christians came out on top demographically as the most generous of all households, giving two-thirds of the total charitable contributions of the nation. Researcher Virginia Hodgkison found that two-thirds of contributions for NONreligious charitable enterprises came from church members. And I would expect no differently. When God is in your heart, your hands relax and open. And very soon you find you are addicted to the euphoric effects of generosity. You feel it, the needy around you are ministered to, the world notices, the kingdom advances—everybody wins.     [Back to Top]