LIVING GENEROUSLY: RECOGNIZE, RESPOND, AND RECEIVE

I Corinthians 15:58, 16:1-4

Intro

There are passages that you read and think to yourself, “that one is talking about money.” Those are the sorts of passages that we mentally connect to a Sunday like Stewardship Sunday. Stewardship equals money. Right? To this I give the ultra-definitive of answer of, … not necessarily.

While portions of what we understand to be stewardship absolutely refer to money, it’s more than just dealing with coin. The textbook definition is, ‘the administration of anything as the agent of another’. In the Christian context, we are able to mold that a little bit more by saying that Stewardship is a faith-filled response to recognize, care for, and use all of the blessings that we have been bestowed with by the Almighty so that the Kingdom of God is built up. This morning’s passage does have something to do with money: but even more that, it has to do with recognizing the blessings of God. It should be out of this recognition that our response should poor forth.

What we are about to hear is the Apostle Paul’s very practical description of how an offering is to be received. The monies that are to be collected will go to help the impoverished Christians who are living in and around Jerusalem. Yes, this offering was assigned to Paul by the disciples and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem because there was a human desire for Paul to prove himself as actually dedicated to the faith. But even more importantly, this offering becomes an opportunity for the new Christians in Corinth to recognize just how blessed they are and give from that place. When that is the emotional place that the people are able to give from, we are told that the work of the Lord through them will not be in vain.

So let’s bring it back to the here and now: in what spirit do we give, of our time, talent, and yes our treasure? The Scripture reads this way.

I Corinthians 15:58-16:1-4

My beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. ²On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. ³And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

“Living Generously: Recognize, Respond and Receive”

Stewardship Sunday is one of those Sundays that a whole lot of ministers shy away from. Guest preachers are brought in, special appeals from other voices within the family of faith are made, pulpit swaps are lined up, anything so that the pastor doesn’t have to talk about …money. Because, as I said prior to the reading, as soon as people hear that Stewardship Sunday is coming, there is a collective holding of the breath, because we aren’t traditionally comfortable talking about how we have been blessed in that way. Think about it: how often have you heard, if not thought, the church and the government, all they want is our money.

As a preacher, I recognize that perceived reality …and dive head long in anyway because Stewardship is so much more than giving money. Are we going to be receiving estimated giving cards later in the service? Absolutely. Is that where Stewardship begins and ends? O my goodness, no!

And that is where Paul is leading in regards to the passage this morning when he says, “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” The way that I hear that verse is “recognize the blessings of time, talent, and treasure that you have received, and know that when they are used as God is leading us to use them, will bear much fruit. Stand firm in that belief.”

So the first thing that we need to really accept is that we have been blessed by God. As individuals and as a family of faith, we have been blessed with a multitude of gifts.

First, there is the gift is time. And it isn’t so much that the blessing of time means that you aren’t busy, but instead, that you are able to follow the leading of the Lord so that you are able to establish real priority and focus to the time that you do have. In the world that we live in, at least in our neck of the woods, there is this feeling of perpetual motion: gotta get here, gotta get there. Then we look back at the end of the day, or the end of the week and wonder where it all went. We need to establish what is really important and if we are going to be a people of faith, then how God would have us use the time that we have should absolutely become part of the process. If God is not there with you as you start to establish what the week looks like, then we are not recognizing how he is trying to bless us. So we have the blessing of time.

The next blessing is talent. Look around you and think about all of the amazing skills that are contained within this space. Look around!

Now realize that there are a whole lot of people who have looked at you, and absolutely put you in that category of being blessed with wonderful talents. God has blessed us with skills and interests and if we don’t use them so that God might be glorified, and God’s kingdom is built, then those priorities are, once again, out of whack.

Yes, the talents that we have can bring us personal joy and pleasure, but if the only reason that we do something, or share our gift and talent is so that we get a light shined upon us, or so that we are compensated in a way that builds us up, who is really in charge? God or us? God has blessed us and we should use them in that reality.

The last blessing is our treasure. As we are able to read in scripture in so many places, treasure is not measured by the scales of the world. When that woman placed her last two coins in the temple treasury, her offering was recognized to be so much more valuable than the person who gave out of their wealth a portion that by the worlds standards seemed to be large, but in reality, was anything but, in regards to how God had blessed them.

No matter where we may be on the world’s economic ladder, we need to look at what we have in terms of monies as blessings from God and, as is said in this sanctuary every week, give back to God first, as God first gave to each of us. God didn’t hold the good stuff for later. He gave His son so that we might live. That’s how important we are to God. Shouldn’t how we live, in regards to the blessing of our treasure, be much the same that God first gave to us? As a people of faith, we know that the answer is yes.

So we need to recognize that we have been blessed. These blessings are seeds that are able to be spread out into the world so that God’s light and love might be able to grow. So not only do we have to recognize the blessings that we have, but we need to respond and put them into use. We need to use these blessings of time, talent, and treasure as God is leading us, for when that takes place, amazing thing, things that are truly of God begin to manifest themselves.

That is why Paul spoke so impassionedly to the Corinthians to collect that offering on a weekly basis, because Paul understands that when the people of God recognize that they have been blessed, in time, talent, and treasure, and respond accordingly, then great things, which in the case of the passage this morning, is caring for the impoverished in Jerusalem, might begin to take place. And not only there in Jerusalem, but also back in Corinth as the people are able to understand just how central God is in their lives, which then opens the door for God’s blessings to flow in new and different ways.

I love the visual illustration for this year’s Stewardship Campaign. Look at the tree that’s on the estimated giving cards (if you forgot to bring yours, there are three in each of the pews, not to mention the bookmarks that each of us now have). Look at what is planted. Enough; abundance; mission; volunteer; love; joy: all different blessings that God has given to us.

When they are planted with God being at the heart of the reason why the offering is made, look at what grows!

Yes, some of you may say, “some of those words are repeated.” To that I say, “exactly!” When you give out of the blessings that you have received, and allow them to be planted for the glory of God, those blessings grow! That is stewardship! That’s why I find it so important to preach on this Sunday, because stewardship needs to be at the heart of who we are as a people of faith, because if stewardship is at the heart, then that means that God is at the heart: God is at the center.

As we have been talking about for a while, if we allow God to be at the heart of our lives then the love and grace of God will be able to flow through us and because of the fact that we are using the blessings that we have been bestowed with, then we will correspondingly be blessed even more!

Stewardship starts with recognizing our blessings (even in times of trial and difficulty), recognizing those blessings responding in such a way that we give back. In that giving back we then open the door to being blessed even further. God provides! God has blessed! Let us live in that place by living a life of stewardship.

Recognize God’s blessings. Respond to those blessings by using them as God would have you do, and then prepare for all of the ways God will bless that response so that you (and absolutely others!) might receive blessings in new and different ways. Let us walk a life of stewardship: let us walk it together by allowing God into the heart of our lives.

After Sermon Prayer

God you have blessed us, You are blessing us, and You will continue to bless us. Move in us in such a way that we are able to live in that truth so that we might be able to not only recognize Your blessings but respond by using them as You would have us do. We know that if this happens You will bless our offerings. Lord, hear our prayer and let us live out a daily life of Stewardship. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.