“We All Contribute”
By Tom Hanson
February 13th,
2011
Click here to download printable sermon
notes in pdf format.
Definition: Contribute—To give along
with others.
Romans
15:26 …a certain
contribution for the
poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
This
is the only
time the word ‘contribution’ is used in the whole Bible. Notice that the Gentiles
of Achaia and Macedonia
were
helping the native Israelites. It
took
humility on both sides.
This
message has
four parts:
1.
Who
contributes?
2.
Why do we
contribute?
3.
What is an
acceptable contribution?
4.
Where and
when do we contribute?
1.
Who
contributes? A
person or a people
who have made themselves ready.
Genesis
4:9
…the LORD had respect unto
Abel and to his offering…
Notice
that the
LORD had respect unto Abel’s offering.
Was Cain’s offering too mechanical perhaps? There are two points here
about
contributing: One,
we need to make a
righteous contribution, AFTER prayer to God.
Two, we ARE our brother’s keeper and that is a major
contribution that
we are expected to make as well. God
will accept a contribution from someone who will give respect unto God. This body of flesh must be
kept in check.
2
Chronicles 7:14
…pray, and seek
My face, and turn from their wicked ways…
If
we say that
we have not sinned, then we lie, and we make Him a liar (1
John 1:10). We
need to keep
cleansing ourselves before God, that we may continue to be used by Him.
Isaiah
66:2
…to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit…
The
word
‘contrite’ means crushed. We
have all
felt the crushing of our spirit at times in our lives and truly when we
are
crushed by the overwhelming situations that befall us at times, God is
there
for us. He replaces
the emptiness of
loss with His presence (sometimes that loss is one’s own self).
Micah
6:8
…to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
These
are not
big requirements. We
need to keep
ourselves in a right perspective with God as our Master in our lives,
wholly
dependent on Him in all things at all times.
Luke
18:9-14 …God
be merciful to me, a
sinner…
We
must always
remember that we, too, are sinners, and we have no righteousness of our
own
selves—righteousness is only granted us by the mercy and compassion of
God if
we allow Him to keep us by our own voluntary humility in obeying His
Word. NOTE:
a Pharisee was a separatist, exclusive in his
religion; a publican was a
tax collector. In
Jesus’ time, Pharisees
had become elitists, corrupted by their own vain religious practices;
they had
lost the common touch—they forgot their humble beginnings. Publicans, on the other
hand, were generally
despised, something like lawyers today.
Our
religious
patterns don’t justify us before God, our humble and honest approach to
God is
accepted, no matter what others may think of us.
NOTE: Not
every sacrifice is accepted by God, so it is of utmost
importance that we
examine ourselves, and our motivations, and our attitude before
Almighty God before
we offer ourselves or our efforts to Him.
2.
Why
do we contribute? Simple. It is our duty to care
about God’s work and
those around us. We
approach
contributing with a servant’s heart.
Psalms
116:16
O LORD, truly I am Thy servant; I am
Thy servant…
Ecclesiastes
12:13
…keep His commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.
Luke
17:10
…We are unprofitable servants:
we have done that which was our duty…
Our
duty is
God-given, and if that doesn’t inspire a person to do their best in all
things
then something is wrong, and it isn’t God.
NOTE: The
Word of God is full
examples of our duty to serve God.
We
are created unto good works (Ephesians
2:10).
3.
What
is an acceptable contribution?
One
that is given properly.
Matthew
12:41-44
…she of her want did
cast in all that she had, even all her living.
God
is not
“money intensive,” but He is “heart intensive.”
Here is truly the heart of the message.
This woman gave more than they all, and still it was
not much in a
physical sense. God
looks on the heart
of the person that is giving, offering, and contributing, BEFORE He
looks at
anything else.
4.
Where
and when do I contribute?
Here and
now.
Romans
12:1-2
…present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God…
Conclusion: Everybody contributes to
this great salvation
ministry of God. We
just need to prepare
ourselves and contribute our talents and efforts from a godly vessel
that God
has cleansed and will accept. Proper
preparation will always be our top priority as we contribute to the
work of God
throughout our lives on this earth.
Sermon
notes by Pete Shepherd
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