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Our first observance of
Consecration Weekend was 10 years ago in 1992. Since that time
our membership has increased 16%, our attendance has increased
56%, and our pledging has almost doubled. The process has
worked well for us over those years. It’s worked well because
I think it is the right theology and the right method that
honors God.
But a lot has changed in the
past few years. There is a new reality in America. The
economic boom is gone, at least for now. Some uncertainty lies
ahead—including some uncertainty regarding the charitable
dollar. I learned a few weeks ago that when Enron collapsed in
Houston, Texas, that immediately took 100 million dollars in
charitable giving out of the city. It’s simply gone. Some are
asking what will happen to charity in Houston now.
Some of my colleagues believe
that the churches will need to pick up the slack. A clergy
friend says that he believes the city will be okay and so will
the churches.
But couple this economic loss
with the increasing needs for Christian ministry and mission.
Growing the church’s ministry costs a lot more than it used
to. Remember the story that Halford Luccock once told about a
time when his grandchildren asked if they might have a world
globe as a Christmas gift. As a good grandfather might do, he
obliged. He bought them a large globe that spun on an axis and
sat on a table. When they opened it on Christmas morning he
could see that they were pleased, but there was just a twinge
of disappointment. “What’s the problem?” he asked. “Well,
Grandpa,” they replied, we had really hoped we might have one
with a light on the inside.”
Again doing what all
grandfathers would be prone to do, he returned the globe and
bought them a new one with a light on the inside. When he was
asked later what he learned from that experience he said this,
“I learned that it costs a lot more to light the world.”
Indeed it does. Growing the
church’s ministry costs more than it used to.
So what is the message for our
time? What is the message for right now? Is there a text for
today? The answer is always “yes” and today is no exception.
And here it is: “God is able to provide you with every
blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of
everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”
I am convinced that Christians
will rise above any skepticism or negativism that exists
today. I am convinced that solid Kingdom work will get done.
Listen to the words of counsel in this text.
GOD IS ABLE TO PROVIDE
First, Paul says God is able to
provide. We will sing that promise in a few minutes when we
sing the hymn, “…All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided.”
I trust that promise. This
church trusts that promise. That promise is worthy of trust.
God is able to provide.
Paul says elsewhere in one of
his letters, “God is able to do abundantly through you more
than anything you can ask or imagine.” (See Ephesians 3:20)
That is a similar word of encouragement.
Remember the theme song from the
movie, “The Prince of Egypt” which won an Academy Award a few
years ago. The main lines of the song went this way; “There
can be miracles when you believe. Who knows what miracles can
happen when you believe?”
God is able to provide.
IN ABUNDANCE
But Paul says God is not only
able to provide, but He is always able to provide you in
abundance. Are you skeptical about that? I am not. I am
not skeptical because I believe we are still in a time of
abundance. We may have moved from a time of excess to a
time of abundance, but we are still a people blessed in
abundance.
Regardless of the value of your
pension fund or your portfolio, regardless of the meager
interest you might be earning on your money market fund or
your savings account, this is still a time of great abundance.
There’s a story of a student who had an answering machine in
his dorm room. When you called his dorm, this is the message
you got.
Hi, this is Dave. If it’s the
phone company, I sent the money. If it’s Mom or Dad, please
send money. If it’s a friend, you still owe me money. If it’s
the financial aid office, you didn’t loan me enough money. And
if it’s a girl, leave a message so I can get back to you. And
don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of money.
This is still a time of plenty.
Our cup overflows.
It is interesting to note,
however, that the accumulation of the population as a whole
seems to be slowing. Many economic indicators point to this.
Such a slowdown in accumulation of things may be hard on the
economy. Consumption is the force that drives capitalism. But
we may be hearing a new message. We already have sufficient
abundance.
God still supplies us with every
blessing in abundance. Some years ago one of the saints of
this church made a personal faith statement on a Sunday close
to Consecration Weekend. He talked about tithing in his
life—both in the time when he was working and then after he
retired. I thought it was an excellent statement.
When I got home from church that
day the telephone in our home was ringing. He was on the
phone. He said to me, “Brian, I forgot to tell the
congregation the most important thing I’ve learned from
tithing.” I replied, “I thought your statement was excellent.
What could you have possibly forgotten?” He said, “I forgot to
tell them this: tithing has taught me the difference between
what I need and what I want.”
I believe that some of the
economic changes in this country may be teaching us that
lesson. Maybe this economic downturn is God’s way of teaching
us something important. There is a significant difference
between what we need and what we want.
ENOUGH OF EVERYTHING
Paul goes on to say, “…so you
will always have enough of everything.” That’s quite a
promise, is it not? And notice the word “always” in that
statement. Not “sometimes,” not “occasionally,” not
“periodically,” but “always.”
John Updike, the great American
novelist says that in America it is difficult to achieve a
sense of enough. The Biblical text today says we will always
have enough. Do you trust that promise? I do.
My Internet provider recently
came up with a new upgraded version. I downloaded it into my
computer and discovered that it had a new feature: a
horoscope. Each day you can find out what the stars tell you.
I don’t normally read such things, but on the first day that I
downloaded the service, I checked into it. This is what it
said, “Are you feeling a little tapped out when it comes to
giving? Perhaps you need to cool your heels for a little while
and indulge in a little self-pampering. You really need to
start paying attention to your own needs.”
I cannot think of anything quite
as opposite to the whole meaning of Christian discipleship as
that counsel. At best, it’s bad advice. You and I are not
promised enough to pamper ourselves or indulge
ourselves—although we may do that on occasion. But we are
promised enough, and we are promised it always.
FOR EVERY GOOD WORK
And then the text goes on to say
that for which we are promised enough. We will have enough for
ourselves and enough to share in every good work. In
other words, we will have enough to do the work of the
Kingdom.
When I have faith enough to
trust God’s supply, when I have faith enough to be generous,
then I have enough for every good work in abundance. I can
give gladly because I trust God’s abundance.
I saw a cartoon not too long ago
that showed a Sunday morning service. The usher was receiving
the offering. The minister was leaning over his shoulder and
whispering in his ear, saying, “I’d appreciate it if you’d
stop upsetting folks by asking, ‘Is that your final
donation?’”
To have enough to share in every
good work means that I can make a bold pledge today for the
year ahead. And I can give to the Thanksgiving hunger
offering next Sunday. And I can give to the Christmas
mission offering next month. And I can give something
to UMCOR for recovery from the tornadoes that devastated so
many parts of the country a few days ago. And I still
have abundantly enough for all my needs.
I can’t do the math for you,
but I can make that faith statement. I can’t work the
spreadsheet, but I can bear consistent testimony.
This text is not a fundraising
text. This is a faith raising text. Paul is training troops
for discipleship. He is training followers for Jesus.
The National Security Advisor
these days is Condoleeza Rice. She is a devout Christian—as
are several in high levels of the White House. I think she’s
the daughter of a minister. She recently spoke to a Sunday
School class in the National Presbyterian Church, and this is
what she said.
I feel that faith allows me
to have a kind of optimism about the future…All [will work
out] in a positive way if we all stay close to God and pray
and follow in his footsteps…When you are in a community of
faithful people, it makes a very big difference… in how [you]
treat the task at hand.
Our text for today was
written to a community of faithful people. Paul is providing a
path to spiritual vigor. One of my favorite statements is
this, “Generous people are more spiritually vigorous and
healthy than those who are not generous. And it has nothing to
do with the size of the gift. It has to do with what you
choose to do with whatever you have.”
I think of this in terms of our
youth and our children this morning. It’s not a matter of how
much you give, it’s a matter of what you do with whatever you
happen to have. That’s the secret of God’s giving plan.
ABOUT TRUST
So what we do here today is
about trust. More than at almost any other time in the past
ten years, we need to trust God. Do you and I have sufficient
trust? Can we act on that trust?
Bob Buford is an active
Christian and a founder of the Christian Leadership Network. A
few years ago he wrote a book entitled Halftime.
Written toward the middle of his life, it grew out of a very
difficult crisis in his personal family. In the book he says
this, “There are some things out of which you cannot buy your
way. There are some things out of which you cannot deal your
way. There are some things out of which you cannot manage your
way. You can only trust your way."
That’s a good word for us right
now. It’s a word for the whole church. It’s a word not just
for here at Christ Church this morning, but also across the
land.
You and I can choose to be
conservative, or we can choose to exercise the generosity
option. We can capitulate to the economic sag of the times, or
we can trust our way to victory. I believe this church will
choose the latter path.
Upon the death of the actress
Rosalind Russell there was a poem found in her purse. It was a
simple, three-line poem and this is what it said.
Trust Him when dark doubts
assail thee,
Trust Him when your faith is
small.
Trust Him when to simply
trust Him is the hardest thing
of all.
You might want your estimate of
giving for 2003 to evidence your faith choice in this regard.
Elaine and I have made our choice. I hope you will as well. |
