"Give and It Shall Be Given Unto You" By Chris Ulrich April 17th,
2016
Thank you. Please remain standing; Phil is going to come
up and lead us in a word of prayer for the sermon. Phil: Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, we pray that You would bless and anoint the messenger this
morning as he brings forth Your Word, and that it would minister to the hearers
who have many needs. We just pray that
the message this morning would be anointed, and that it would spiritually feed
people here, and that we would all focus on receiving what You have for us to
receive, today, Lord Jesus. In Your
holy, righteous name, we thank You, Lord Jesus.
Amen. Thank you. You may be seated. So, our theme this month has been
a few different verses from the Book of First Peter, chapter four, and it’s
right up here in front of everybody. 1 Peter 4:8-10 And above all things have fervent charity
among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without
grudging. As every man hath received the
gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God. This message had three points: 1 We
can all give something 2 We’re
not in competition with each other 3 God
will reward us This might sound kind of strange way
to start a sermon, especially as the opening statement, but Christianity is not
for everyone. I’m not saying that God
couldn’t save everyone, He certainly could, but we had a Bible study recently,
and it was about faith, and there is a verse in the Book of Thessalonians that
says, “… for all men have not faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3:2) So it’s true that Christianity is not for
everybody because not everybody does have faith, even though it says in Hebrews
that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him, but without faith it
is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
But, I’m going to take it a step further, by saying that, not only are
there people in the world who don’t have any faith, but there’s people who
don’t have any desire to give. Give in a
ministering capacity of their talents, of their friendship, of their
hospitality, of their money, and whatever other ways we can give because I know
there are more. I’m not saying these are
bold proclamations, I’m just saying that when we look around we see a lot of selfishness
in the world. And that’s one thing that
you made a point of, in your sermon, weeks ago, Parrish. And it seems like it’s become like a plague, and
it’s just spreading everywhere. So, why
is that? To be honest, I don’t have a
one-word answer or a one-statement explanation, but suffice it to say that
morally and spiritually speaking we live in a corrupt society, we live in a
corrupt world. Iniquity shall abound,
and the love of many shall wax cold (Matthew 24:12). I mean, these are things that we learn in our
foundation in God. I’m just going to say
that, having said all that, and it seems to be worsening, it doesn’t sound like
encouraging news, does it? Well,
fortunately that’s not the end of the story.
Maybe ministering and giving isn’t for everyone but it sure is for some. 2 Corinthians 9:1-7 For as
touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to
you: For I know the forwardness of your
mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a
year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many. Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our
boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be
ready: Lest haply if they of Macedonia
come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be
ashamed in this same confident boasting.
Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would
go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice
before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of
covetousness. But this I say, He which
soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully. Every man
according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of
necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. So, he that soweth sparingly shall
reap sparingly, but he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully. 1st Point – We Can All Give
Something For many of us that remember, last
summer we had a Founder’s Day celebration and I know there were some different
messages given but, I know that one that really stood out to me was titled,
“All In.” How many remembers that from
last year? So whether it’s a business
venture, or embarking on a new relationship, or going on an expedition
somewhere, or travel abroad, the world is full of opportunities to take
chances. But the message of being “All
In” was about laying down our life for the gospel and the humble beginnings that
this ministry was founded on, about pooling our resources, about getting
together—and I’m not talking socialism.
I mean, I know that there are things that you can look at, and there’s a
reflection of governments that are modeled after Christianity; I mean, that’s
the truth, but, when it comes right down to it, left, or right, or somewhere in
the middle, it’s democracy or communism, or socialism, or whatever it is, God’s
Word is God’s Word. And we have to
respect that. We can’t look at it like,
“Oh, we’ll just twist it around and make it suit our own agenda, or make it fit
our own personal direction. We have to
get on board with what God’s Word is, it’s not the other way around. We don’t adjust it and tweak it and change it
around… I know that’s something we
talked about quite a bit last month, about changing the Word of God. It can’t be done; we’d be foolish if we
tried, because even the very, very last verses in the Bible, in Revelation, the
very last chapter, it talks about if any would add to, God would add to him the
plagues that are written in this Book (Revelation 22:18), and, if any man takes
away, God will take our name out of the Book of Life (Revelation 22:19). Now, I get that there’s people who, “Oh, I
don’t care; it doesn’t make a big difference.”
It makes a difference to me, and I believe it makes a difference to us,
us that take the Word seriously. Now, I get
that we are not facing insurmountable challenges every day of our life, because
there are times when we enjoy the fruit and peace of our labor I God. But let’s not forget that we wrestle not
against flesh and blood but against principalities and the power of wickedness
in high places (Ephesians 6:12), and that’s something that’s been ongoing since
the beginning of time. Now, think about
this, you wouldn’t have thought that the iniquity that is permeating would be
the first two children of the first two people, Cain and Abel. I mean, if you look at that account, Cain
slew Abel. I mean, you’re talking about
right off the bat, something happened that you know Satan had his claws in
people very early on. But, you know
what? We do have an escape. We do have a way of getting out of here, and
that’s trusting in God. And, there are evil
forces that are vying for our soul and the Bible tells us that Satan is as a
roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. Do you believe that today? It’s without a shadow of a doubt it’s a
spiritual force that exists. The Bible
talks about the world is framed by the Word of God, and things which are made
are not made of things which do appear (Hebrews 11:3). So, it’s like, behind the curtain. I mean, behind this existence, behind this
atmosphere that we’re in, there is a spiritual existence. And, I know that we know that, but it’s a
matter of trusting in God and continuing to retain that as we go through life. So, what does that have to do with
giving? Well, how much do you like
giving? How much do I like giving? It takes an effort to be able to give, and a
heart to be able to sustain that. And,
even in worship—we just had some worship time—it takes an effort. I mean, we can’t just flop in, like, “Oh, I’m
here entertain me.” You know what I
mean? It’s like, I appreciate that
effort, because, even when we were talking about the talents, there was a
ministering—and we’re going to get into that.
This is about ministering. I woke
up this morning, and I had put together a lot of things in the last week and a
half, you know, looked at it again, looked at it again, did some tweaking, and
the first thing God dealt with me—I believe laid on my heart was, “It’s about
ministering. This is about
ministering.” I said, “Thank You, God,”
got up, wrote it down, came in, made some more adjustments, but, I mean, there’s
always a matter of looking at it like, okay...
Now, if you don’t like ministry, we’re in the wrong place. That’s an honest-to-God fact. If you don’t like giving, then we’re going to
reap sparingly. We’re not going to get
much out of it, and where does our soul stand then? I don’t want to take that chance. I don’t want to just, “Cheap, cheap, cheap,
cheap, cheap, cheap,” and that’s all I’m going to do with God, I’ll just give
as little as possible in whatever capacity it is. I’m not talking about the convenient type of giving
that’s easy. Just showing up to church
is something; it is, but there’s more to it than that. There’s more to it than just coming. And, I’m talking about sacrifices in the way
we live, in the time we spend in prayer and reading, in the choices we make
putting God first, in the places we live, in our service to one another, and in
our financial decisions. No, we can’t
out-give God and I think everybody here understands that. But are you glad to be able to give, today? To be able to give something. Because that is the first point, that we can
all give something. Because, after all,
God loves a cheerful giver. 2nd Point – We’re Not in
Competition with Each Other 2 Corinthians 10:12-18 For
we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that
commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.
But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to
the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach
even unto you. For we stretch not
ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are
come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: Not boasting of things without our measure,
that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased,
that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, To preach the gospel in the regions beyond
you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our
hand. But he that glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord. For not he that
commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. Jim and Yvette, it’s good to see
you today, and Roger, it’s good to have you up here from Florida. So, we’re not to compare ourselves
with each other. This might sound like
another sort of unusual statement to make but here it goes, “We’re not in a
race to the bottom, and we’re not in a race to the top of the heap in the
ministry.” What I mean by that is, we’re
not here to try to say, “Okay, I’m looking to just take over, and be able to call
the shots.” And when I say, “we’re,” I
mean us, and that needs to be the overriding mentality among all of us. In fact, Christ said Himself, “He that is
greatest among you will be your servant.”
So it’s not some glory road where the top dog’s getting the big paycheck,
and, it’s just, you know, all the minions down below, and, you know… I’ll be honest with you, a lot of people that
do start businesses—and this isn’t about getting into all that, but—a lot of
times those early days of a business, or whatever it is—Jim, you own your own
business—I mean, it’s not always, like, fun and games, right? I mean, there’s a lot of legwork and
follow-up, and, you know, deal with customers, and all that kind of thing. Ken, you’ve got your own business. I mean, it’s not just like, “I just want to
stand up here and bark orders at people.”
It doesn’t work like that. It
just doesn’t work like that. On the
other end of the spectrum, we’re not looking to see who can grovel the best,
and have the appearance of, “Oh, I’m the most humble and willing to do the
worst sacrifice the most, or be willing to make the most unreasonable
sacrifices, usually for the purpose of making some kind of outward
statement. “Oh, I’ll just quit my job, and
let somebody else take my car, just for the glory of God. Or, nobody else will give in the offering so
I’ll just throw in everything, including the kitchen sink, for the glory of God. Or, nobody’s going to visit somebody in the
hospital, I’ll just go up there with a chip on my shoulder…” A million times
until they get sick of you, and then it’s like, “But I visited them!” But what kind of attitude did you have going
in? That’s when it’s, like, it’s about
ministering, not about competing. It’s
not about, like, trying to go off on somebody, “You did what? That wasn’t—“No, it isn’t about that. It’s not a competition. Competing with one another can sometimes lead
to irrational behavior. What we need to
understand is that we have a common goal, there are enough blessings to go
around, and Heaven is big enough for all of us.
And Heaven is big enough for us all.
It’s not a matter of looking at it like, okay, I know the Bible says,
“Covet earnestly the best gifts, yet show I unto you a more excellent way,” (1
Corinthians 12:31) so, in case you were thinking of that, that’s still not
competing with each other. Coveting the
best gifts, those are from God. If we do
something, and we live a life, dedicated in holiness, and God sees fit to say,
“I’m going to give this person the gift of teaching,” or, “…helping.” The fit of helps is a very underestimated
gift. Because, you know why? Because you’re getting your hands dirty. I mean, it’s not glamorous it’s not one of
those where it’s like, “Oh, yeah, yeah, I’m up here,” or something. It’s like doing dishes, or answering the
phones, or like changing a transmission, or like sweeping the floor. Grunge work, they call it. But we have to be willing to even do those
things, sometimes. Matthew 6:1-4 Take heed that ye do
not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of
your Father which is in heaven.
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before
thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may
have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left
hand know what thy right hand doeth:
That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself
shall reward thee openly. I’ve got to admit, I had to look
in the Concordance for a good definition of the word “alms” because, quite
honestly, I’ve read through that passage a lot, but, this isn’t a word or a
term that’s used very often anymore. I
mean, how many used the word, ‘alms,’ yesterday in conversation? I know I didn’t. I mean, even reading it, it’s like… “Yeah, but this week, I’m going to go give
alms, so…” “I’m going to go to
alms…” It just doesn’t… But I had to look it up, it just means an act
of generosity to someone in serious need, often referring to giving gifts of
substance or money. It’s true that we
can’t be private about everything I mean, sometimes people are going to see
things. And, a lot of times, those things,
even if they aren’t done in public, I mean, how are you going to hide it? But, it’s an important part of ministering,
and, yet, it’s never about boasting of ourselves, or thinking that our
righteousness is of ourselves, because it isn’t. It never is, it never was, it never will be,
and a couple of us were talking yesterday, we were talking about giving glory
to God, or giving credit to God; it’s the same thing. It’s—glory to God, we see that in the Bible a
lot, about, the glory is of the Lord.
But you hear, a lot of times, today, like, the term credit, like, “Yeah,
I gave credit to my dad,” or, “I gave credit to, like, my employer,” or, “I
give credit to this person for winning an academy award,” or whatever. Things like that, you know. But it is a matter of giving credit to God,
or glory to God, no matter what the situation, no matter what the circumstances
are. And, no matter how many acts of
generosity that we’re on the giving end, or that we accomplish, it’s not a competition,
and it’s always a matter of giving credit to God. 3rd Point – God Will Reward
Us I think I can speak for most of us
when I say that it feels good to be able to do something nice for someone, as
it does to be on the receiving end as well.
I recently lost my grandmother and I know, in many ways, that does seem kind
of weird to say, and I’ve shared that, because I’m 48 and she was 91, so this
wasn’t a tragedy, like—and, thank God, it wasn’t a long drawn-out illness,
either. I know, a lot of us here, have
lost their parents, or one of their parents, or siblings, that are close to my
age, and my heart goes out to them. So,
it’s not a matter of looking at it like, “Wow, this is just, you know, I’m just
floored, or I’m devastated…” Even my
mom, she was like, “We knew that was going to come.” But, be that as it may, I can’t say thank you
enough for those that did express condolences, and gave me cards, and well-wishes,
and thoughts and prayers and love offerings.
My mom and uncle had asked me to do the eulogy, and I had never done
that before, but I definitely sought the face of God about it. And I feel like it went well, and I give
credit to God for that. I feel like
there are memories that I have, a lot of good memories. Now, I have to share this, because I give
credit to God, I mean, you can’t sit there and—I think sometimes when somebody
gives us a compliment, how do you receive it?
Do you say, “Thank you?” “Thank
God?” whatever way you do it, it’s not like, there’s kind of a fine line, but,
just after the end of the eulogy, my mom went to high school with a couple that
are still together after fifty-two years or whatever, and she’s originally from
the country of Latvia he’s from Maryland.
So, they’ve been good friends of the family for a long, long time, and I
stayed with my parents at their house while we were there. But, one thing that I did learn is that, a
lot of times, in that type of event, it’s a lot about people just sharing
memories, and being willing to come up and share some memories. But, just after the end of the eulogy, this
gentleman, he came over to me, and I’ve got to say this, I’ve thank God because
I look at it like, I’m not going to sit there and pat myself on the back, like,
“Oh, yeah, I really controlled...” That
has nothing to do with it. It’s just a
matter of continuing to give credit to God.
But he said, kind of kiddingly, kind of seriously, “What do I have to do
to get you to do my eulogy?” Well,
confirming that, the next morning, we were out to breakfast, and, just as we
were parting ways, he said it again.
“Now, do I have to give you a down-payment or something?” And I said, “No, no.” And I have a lot of good memories about
him. And I think part of it is that,
where we can find the good in something.
And, in some cases, it’s much easier than not; I’ll say that much. But, this last point about God
will reward us. I want to read a verse;
you don’t have to turn to it. It’s a
very short verse: Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your
work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister. And there’s that word, ‘minister,’
again. It’s not necessarily our
motivation to get because we give, but it’s not as though we give away
everything and expect nothing in return.
Now, I’m going to start talking a little plainly, I mean, unless you’re
on your deathbed or very philanthropic then it’s true that we still need to
have some means in order to survive, in order to live day-to-day. There is an old expression, probably a lot of
us have heard, it says, “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” How many have heard that? Okay. It simply means, I’ll do something for you if
you look out for me. And it’ just
tit-for-tat; it’s just, however you want to measure that… But that’s human nature at its most basic,
but you know what? I don’t know that I
would be all that willing to give, in much of anything, if I didn’t think I was
getting something in return from God.
I’m going to say that again: I
don’t know that I would be all that willing to give much at all, if I didn’t
think I was going to have a reward with God in Heaven; eternal life, for the
different things that we do. And, again,
we refer back to, “All in.” Are we all
in? Am I looking at this like, “Well,
I’m just kind of on the outskirts looking in.
Oh, I don’t know. You know, this
just doesn’t seem like it’s a glamorous ministry.”? Which it’s not. But you look at, like, in the Biblical
examples, just Old and New Testament, it was never about glamour. I mean, Christianity is far from that. It’s like the exact opposite of that. So, how does this giving and it
shall be given unto you work with God? I
want to read that again, from First Peter.
I’m just going to come up here and read it. 1 Peter 4:8-10 And above all things have fervent charity
among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without
grudging. As every man hath received the
gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God. So, I’ll ask that again: how does this giving and it shall be given
unto you work with God? I’m going to
read from Luke, so that you’ll know what I’m talking about, as far as this
passage. It says: Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. So, how does it all work, when
it’s not a ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours?’ When it’s not that, but it’s giving, and we
get in return? I don’t know, but I’m
going to tell you this much, how does ‘fervent charity shall cover the
multitude of sins’ work? I don’t know;
it just works! It works in God, because
it’s God’s Word! The Bible says, “Have
fervent charity, and it shall cover the multitude of sins,” and I’m not
re-preaching what Parrish preached two weeks ago, that’s one of my favorite
verse, because it’s intangible. It’s not
like, “Well, if I show three acts of charity, God will cover nineteen sins,”
or, “If I give this much, then these sins will be marked out.” I don’t know how it works; we don’t need to
know how it works. It’s written in
heaven! It’s written in heaven! I’m going to share a story—this is
my last story, today, anyway—a lot of us know Rod Williams, he’s the director
of our fellowships, and he was up here, about a month and a half ago. Anyway, Rod’s a real good guy, and, a lot of
times when he comes up here—don’t tell him I told you this, okay? When I get to the end, you’ll know why—When
he comes up here, a lot of times he’ll stay at the apartment building that a
few of us own, and, you know, I usually work from home, and he’ll come up, and,
“Hey, Chris-Chris! What’s going on?” And I’ll say, “You want some coffee?” And he’ll say, “Yeah, I knew you’d offer me,
that’s why I come over here.” So, I
appreciate that, and I feel like… I’m
like, “You want the Dunkin’ Donuts Hazelnut, or the plain?” “I like the hazelnut.” And I’m like, “Okay, good.” So, this particular afternoon, I had actually
finished work, and I was looking at a website to get a pair of sunglasses, for
bike-riding season. Well, Rod’s a
bike-rider, too, and he says, “Oh, you’re looking for some sunglasses?’ I’m like, “Yeah.” He goes, “Oh, well, I’ve got an extra pair;
I’ll just send them up to you.” So,
check this out. So, I’m thinking, “All
right, cool.” I’m not going to hound
him, though. I’m not going to be like,
every time I see him, “Hey, don’t forget to send the glasses.” I’m thinking, “He’s offering it,” but I’m
looking at it like, “All right. All
right.” So, check this out. Like a week later, the mail, the postal
carrier comes: Big box. A big box, like this (pantomiming holding a
big box). I’m like, “Sunglasses? That’s kind of big box for sunglasses.” So, I open the box, you know, with an Exacto
knife, six bags, six pounds of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, and a pair of
sunglasses. I’m like, “Oh, my God.” I texted him, “Now this is like going ten
extra miles beyond.” I appreciated that,
tremendously, and what I mean about that, he didn’t do that for a show. He didn’t do that to be told in a story,
although I’m doing that. But I
appreciate that, and it’s—how does it tie to, “Give and it shall be given unto
you?” It’s not about strings attached,
or, “I’m going to do something nice only if they do something,” and, then, if
nobody makes the first move, then nothing’s ever done. Then everything’s just left up in the air,
and nothing nice gets done. Then people
are afraid to take that step of faith to like cross over, to like, reach out
and shake somebody’s hand. I’m going to
just share, Malcolm said, “Just walk around and shake hands a little bit,” so
I’m on the front row, and I had gone back, and come up here, and I was kind of
like looking back, just kind of, “Who’s here?” and then Sonia comes over, “Hey,
Chris!” Real big smile, and I smiled,
but I thought, if my reaction would have been like, (unenthusiastically) “Hey.” Don’t you think she would have thought,
“What’s wrong with that guy?” So, it’s
like, what I mean by that is, charity and hospitality is infectious. I believe a lot of times people can be cooped
up, and that was uplifting. It really
was. “Give and it shall be given unto
you.” That is the title of the sermon
today, and it ties in with God’s reward for us.
Knowing that we have a reward with God is what keeps us going when it
feels like there’s nothing left in the tank. And I know that many of us have been
there. It’s what keeps us going when we
feel like we’ve run out of all the strength that we thought we could ever muster. And it’s what keeps us going when we feel
like, “I can’t take another step.” And
I’m not talking about just in life, I’m talking specifically in
Christianity. And I’m closing here in a
moment. We all received the gift of the
ability to minister the day that we got baptized in Jesus’ name. And I know it doesn’t always feel right, or
doesn’t always seem easy to give, and we may not even always know in what
capacity God is asking us to give. And,
yes, God is asking us to give something.
And in the end God is going give us all something in return that is
going to far exceed our greatest imagination. God bless you, and thank you for
your time.
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