"The Vision and the Gift"
Sermon Transcript for April 6, 2003Scripture Reading: I Chronicles 29:1-18
By Rev. Mike Beck
You aren’t in the ministry very long before you usually hear the comment second handedly and I’m sure it’s been said by a few folks in the Imagine Grace campaign. The quote goes like this: “All the church ever does is ask for money.” Now one thing I discovered about persons who make that comment, they almost never participate in small group ministries, they don’t have a clue of how the church is ministering to countless numbers of people from Monday through Sunday, and ironically I’ve never heard that comment from a tithing Christian. A pastor who heard such a comment told the following story that kind of puts things in perspective:
The person said to the pastor, “We were expecting our first child. We made numerous trips to the shopping center purchasing items to prepare a nursery in our home. We spent money on pre-natal visits and on the delivery. The doctor sent us a bill and so did the hospital. As our son started to school, still more money was required. When he became a teenager, the money needs increased dramatically with a car, insurance, and school activities. And then it came time to send him to college. That required more sacrifice than ever in our family budget.” But then he paused and he said to the pastor, “But our son died of cancer just before his second year of college. And now he doesn’t cost us anything.”
The reason we are doing the Imagine Grace campaign is because Grace Church is alive, it is healthy, it is growing, and it has a vision for expanded ministry! In the wonderful passage we read this morning from I Chronicles 29, God’s people were preparing to build a Temple to their God. God had given the vision for the Temple to King David. The actual building of the Temple would fall to David’s son, Solomon. But in this passage, David is both challenging and thanking God for the preparations they’ve made for the work ahead.
I want to simply do what I did last week and that is just to pull out a few brief versus of Scripture to share some comments on. First of all, Verse 3. David says, “In my devotion to the Temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver…” The gift that David is referring to here is a very personal gift. It is over and above his normal giving. And the Hebrew word for that kind of gift is the word “seggullah”. The seggulah was a treasure of extreme importance to the ancient eastern monarch who knew that they actually owned all the land. Yet to remind the monarch that God ultimately owned everything, he kept near his side a treasure box containing precious metals, and jewels and rare objects. And that seggulah functioned as a kind of a personal security for the King against times of personal hardship and disaster. So when David says, “I’m giving now my seggulah for the work of building the Temple,” he forfeited an important part of his personal security. But David’s devotion to God was so great that he was willing to risk his material well being in the future to the work of God in the present.
There are a number of people that I wrote to and asked them to return to me a testimony of what motivated them to give, what did they think of when they thought of sacrificial giving? And in thinking about David giving his seggulah, I read you the words of one of those testimonies that was returned to me. This person said, “When I consulted our Trust Manager about the availability of funds for the building campaign, she laughed and told me that I had a net over-spending of $4,700 in the year 2002. She told me she saw no excess funds available for 2003. Therefore, our sacrifice is taking money from our investments for ‘old age’ and giving it to the campaign!” That’s exactly what David was doing when he said; “I give now my personal treasure.” Which reminded me of the words of the martyred missionary to South American, Jim Elliott. I keep this little quote on my desk. He said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in exchange for that which he cannot lose.” Jim Elliott gave it all; he gave his very life, but he said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in exchange for what he cannot lose.”
For those of you who have children at home, share with them this week your commitment to this campaign. Share with them how you have arrived at that. Share with them why you gave it joyfully. I mailed a videotape of my sermon three weeks ago to both of my boys. And I said to them, “Boys, I am not giving you this expecting you to do anything from it other than to know a little better the heart of your Dad and the faith that I have tried to pass on to you.
Verse 9, “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to God.” One of the exciting things that will happen next Sunday morning is early in the service the leaders of Grace Church have been asked to make their commitment in advance of next Sunday. We will announce the total of their commitment as an encouragement for you as you make your commitment. There was a testimony that was returned to me that speaks to that. A lady who wrote, “My life has been blessed by God through family and friends who have held me in the hollow of their hands in times of trouble and in times of joy. My relationship with God as I have become more obedient in the area of giving, has enriched me immensely. For I have come to rely upon God more and more each day.” And then she wrote this. She said, “I could never have imagined that my tithes and gifts would have blessed me the way they have. Ever since that first time I tithed my income…” And she put in parenthesis, “(it felt so good to do this!)” She said, “I have never lacked for anything. In fact, it seems that I have more now than ever! As Solomon built a temple because the Lord had blessed him, so I want to help expand Grace Church. I want to help enlarge the Kingdom of God on earth by helping Grace expand…because God has given so much to me!” One thing I know about that lady is she made an investment of 34 weeks to be a part of a Disciple Bible Study Group. That experience changed her life. She got it spiritually, which is what the church and discipleship is all about.
And then in Versus 11 & 13 we read these words, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the majesty, and the splendor.” And then over in Verse 13 he says, “Now, O God, we give You thanks and we praise Your glorious name!” In this campaign all of us need to examine our motives. If this campaign is about so that Reverend Mike can go to annual conference and brag to his pastor buddies and friends that my church is better than your church, God better drive me to my knees. If we are doing this campaign so that we can walk around downtown Franklin, “We go to Grace Church. That’s the nicest church in the community.” Lord, forgive us. But I’ve never forgotten the words of Jim Gentry who was my District Superintendent when at my previous church he came to meet with the Building Committee early in the process. And he said this to them and I’ve never forgotten. He said, “If you are building this so that you will be more comfortable, God will not bless it. But if you are building this because you have a burden that people in this community who have never darkened your doors may come to know the saving Grace of Jesus Christ, God will bless it.” So David in these versus is saying the glory and the praise is not to us. This is about God.
And then in Verse 14 David says, “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from Your hand.” One of the things that Mitch Stewart, our consultant, has reminded us over and over again is that this campaign is ultimately not about raising money for a building. What this campaign is ultimately about is the spiritual growth that’s going to take place among God’s people when they have the opportunity to expand their faith to trust God to a greater degree with their treasure. For David says, “who are we to be able to give as generously as this if all comes from God?”
I received this testimony from a couple who live at the United Methodist Community who, let me say, I’ve found to be the most generous people I’ve ever met. And to those of you who live at the United Methodist Community. Please be aware, your pastor understands fully that your years of faithful ministry, there are many projects you support through your giving. Imagine Grace will just be one of many. We understand that. But this person’s testimony was, “The church has been such an important part of our lives from childhood through our adult years. We have felt the tithe has never been ours to use personally.” And then this couple shared a couple of other building programs taking place in a seminary in another institution that they support, that they are giving to. But again we have said, “Not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice.” And I was blessed when I read these words, “We don’t see our giving as a sacrifice; however, we have canceled plans for an extended trip to help our giving to this campaign.” (Lost some of transcription due to tape change.)
Versus 18-19, “I have seen with joy how willingly Your people have given to You. Keep this desire in the hearts of Your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to You.” This is my prayer for each person who calls Grace his or her church home. Be much in prayer this week. Come with great anticipation to the Special Event next Sunday. Remember the phrase, “Not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice.” Some of the smallest gifts will represent the greatest sacrifice. In fact, for those of you who are struggling financially, who are unemployed, hear again the verse we concluded with last week in II Corinthians 8:12, “If you are eager to give…” First you have to ask God that question, “Are you eager to give?” Then hear God’s promise. God says, “If you are eager to give, God will accept your gift on the basis of what you have to give, now on what you don’t have.” That’s the Word for some of you.
But you also heard me say, “No one should sit on the sidelines.” God will do
awesome things if we each do our part. Make God proud of you! Make God proud
of you. God will see what’s on your heart. And David, I think, in this
passage of Scripture talked about integrity before the Lord. Make Grace
Church proud of you! See your part in this campaign as an investment that
will outlive you! You might, as you leave this morning, Beulah Schrader has
given me some materials related to the campaign that built this beautiful
sanctuary 17 years ago. You may want to look at some of the names of the
folks who are on those committees. They are out there. Some of them have
gone on now to their eternal reward, but they made an investment that outlived
them. Then, finally, just “Imagine Grace!” and how God
wants you to be a part of seeing
that dream come true.
E-mail Comments to: Reverend Dan Sinkhorn