Give It ALL Away!

Recently, my church gave space and time to a mission church.  We made it possible for Movement Church to meet at a time and in a facility that very well suited their preferences.  They've met a couple of times here and everything seems to be going good for them.  I'm happy to be able to support a sister expression of the Body of Christ and their efforts to expand the Kingdom!

I've been asked by some of our members why we are doing this.  "Why host a mission church?  Why have Movement Church here?"  Good question; fair question...and I believe the answer is a KEY, FUNDAMENTAL, ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL ELEMENT of the Christian Walk.

We are giving away.

My church and Movement Church share the same view of our city.  When we look at St. Petersburg, Florida, we see a city in desperate need of what Jesus offers.  We see need and we see hurting people.  Mostly, we see people searching...and not knowing what they are searching for; and some not even knowing they are searching.  And we both know, we have the answer - the Hope that all in this city need. 

We are two expressions of the Body of Christ, in the same city, with the same view of the city.  So, we are giving away.

But even beyond being like-minded, there is something else involved…we are meeting needs.  Movement Church needed space near downtown St. Pete and time to grow and strengthen.  We have space available at the times they wanted, and we are not too far from downtown. We are providing the space and time that will help meet their needs.  We are giving away.

We have a need as well.  God clearly has called my church to reach the northeast quadrant of this city.  There are so few involved in Kingdom work in this area; we almost are alone in this vital effort.  And there is no way we can reach all the people.  But Movement Church can reach some.  In fact, because of their uniqueness, they will reach some that we never would be able to reach.  By helping them, we are helping ourselves accomplish our mandate.  We are giving away.

We are GIVING AWAY; to help meet the needs of another; to help accomplish our mandate; and to see the Kingdom expand.  The point is…WE ARE GIVING AWAY.

My church, North East Park, is gaining a reputation as a giver.  I am so happy to be a part of a church that regularly gives away.  Here are some examples of how we have been giving away:

1. We are hosting a Haitian congregation.  They are different culturally, which has caused some friction at times.  But that's okay.  We've adjusted and learned through this; as have they.  And because we are giving away, they have the opportunity to grow, strengthen and reach people in this city that we never will, nor ever would.  We don't speak the language, and are not familiar with the culture.

2. We gave away our Family Life Pastor for several months to help a sister church in our county.  He preached on Sundays and provided leadership after the previous pastor had left.  As a result, a church was strengthened and excited once again for Kingdom work.

3. To the same church we next gave away our Evangelism/Small Group Pastor.  He was providing the Wednesday Bible Study for them and they loved him so much he was called as their new Pastor.  We didn't intend to send him to a new assignment!  But God so ordained and we gave away.  Sometimes giving away is costly.

4. Now, we are giving away our Family Life Pastor again.  He is becoming part-time with us so that he can focus on a new project from God.  Called the Pinellas Youth Project, it is a collaboration with CEF, FCA and Intervarsity to have a campus ministry on every elementary school, middle school, high school and college campus in Pinellas County!

5. I personally give away some of my time/attention/energy to help encourage, pray with and guide church planters in our quadrant (there now are four!) and other places.  I give away time to fellow pastors and to missional efforts that involve our city and St. Petersburg, Russia, among many other activities.

6. My church gave away space for a Live Sent Conversation hosted here last month; and the 2 St Pete’s Missional event coming soon.  We are hosting other associational, missional, etc., events - giving away what we have available for the cause of the Kingdom.

These are just a few examples of how, as a Pastor and a people, we are giving away!

To be honest, some (even in our own church) would say: “But, we don’t have it to give!”  Ever heard that phrase?  Can I change the inflection just a little, and a word or two?

I would put it this way:  “We have it, TO give!”

God gave it to us, so we would give it away and be a blessing to others!  It's all His anyway; nothing is really yours or mine.  Money, houses, cars, talents, wisdom, etc., it is all God's property, for a time entrusted to your stewardship.  It's not what you have, but what you do with it that is important.

I believe giving away ourselves and our resources, as God gives opportunity, pleases God very much. In fact, I KNOW this to be true because of something Jesus said.  There is this little passage in Scripture – one we like to overlook and forget is even there – called the Return Principal!

JESUS: “Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over – will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

More than like-minded vision, more than meeting needs (theirs or ours); there is something deeper – a more profound reason for giving Movement Church time and space here on this campus, and for giving ourselves and resources away…OUR GIVING DETERMINES OUR RECEIVING!

Notice 2 things about our giving, and 3 about receiving:

1. We must give first, then receive.  "Give and it will be given to you."  We give first, then get the return.  This requires a STEP of FAITH by us.

2. We give expectantly.  God has made a promise, so as we give we expect Him to fulfill His word.  This means we can give cheerfully, not just because we will receive a blessing, but because God loves us so much He will provide abundance for our lives!  So don’t be stingy, miserly, or a hoarder.  Give away.

3. Jesus said if we give well, we will receive abundantly: "a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over."  That’s ABUNDANCE!

4. Jesus said this abundance would come easily.  Literally, it will be "poured into your lap."  You don't have to fret or worry, you don't need to sweat and make great effort; just give, and the reward is poured into your lap!

5. Most importantly, Jesus said the level of our giving determines the amount of our abundance.  The measure you use determines the measure God uses!  Use the smallest spoon, expect a small spoon of blessing returning to you.  Use a dump truck, and wait for the results!

I believe God has a mountain of blessings He desires to shower upon us - to pour into our laps.  But He is waiting and watching to see what we will do.  And when we are miserly...when we use the tiniest of scoops to give away to another, then He uses a tiny scoop to reach into that mountain of blessings.  How tragic!

This is the Return Principal.  This is not about giving, as we generally think about it – though it certainly includes being a faithful tither and contributor to the church.  But this is much bigger.

This is about GIVING all of yourself and all you have – giving it all away!

Does this work?  Well, have you ever known God to not fulfill His promise?  Of course it works; because God is faithful to do what He has promised.  But just so you will know for sure, let me give you one recent example.

As a church, North East Park gave away two staff members.  Without us looking for it, God is bringing us a new staff person – one who came unexpectedly – literally: poured into our lap!  One who is a great fit for where we are currently as a church and where we are headed.

When we share, when we give away – God gives us back in abundance.

It truly is very simple: HOLD, & LOSE…or...GIVE, & RECEIVE!

I'm a giver. I’m leading our church to give away. Remember: We have it, TO Give!  I would like for you to be one who gives away as well. You will be happier. You will be able to celebrate better what God is doing. And you will receive more in return.

Are you going to be a MISER?  Or, a GIVER!

God's Gift

Ephesians 2:8-9

In the church we use words – terms – and we use them so much we begin to assume everyone knows what they mean. Well, certainly we should not assume people who aren’t regularly in church should know what the words mean. And probably, even those who are regulars, may not really know what some of the common “church words” mean, and how they are (or should be) important in their lives.

One of the most important of those words is: saved.  We use it a lot in church. “I’m saved!” “Are you saved?” “Would you like to be saved today?”

But do you know what it really means? Here is how you can tell if you know what it really means:

• Do you understand what saved means well enough to explain it to someone else?
• Can you tell someone how to be saved?

Supposedly, one of the most important parts of being a Christian is that we are saved! One of the most important things we are supposed to do as Christians is “save” others!

How can we do that if we don’t really know what the term means? How can we even be sure we are saved ourselves?

If you struggle with answering any of these questions, if you have ever wondered if you are truly saved, if you have no idea how salvation really happens, or if it’s even important or not, then this for you! If you would like a concise definition of saved, then this is for you. If you would like to have a simple way of explaining to someone what being saved is, then you will appreciate this passage.

God inspired Paul to write a book to the Christians in Ephesus. In this little book we find a great definition/explanation of saved.  The focus of Ephesians, chapter 2, is: SALVATION. And no passage better explains this idea than verses 8-9 of chapter 2.

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift - not from works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Salvation (as defined in Webster’s Dictionary) means: preservation from destruction; rescue.

What a great definition!

Cars are stolen every day, all across the country. But one incident was rather unique. Police in one small town in California were staging an intense search for a stolen vehicle and its driver – even to the point of placing announcements on the local radio station to contact the thief. On the front seat was a box of crackers that, unknown to the thief, were laced with poison. The car owner had intended to use the crackers as rat bait. Now the police were more interested in apprehending the thief to save his life than to recover the car. So often when we run from God, we think it is to escape his punishment. But what we are actually doing is eluding his rescue.

Truly, God preserves us from destruction – He rescues us – when we are saved!  This passage tells us how God chooses to do this.  If you can remember three words, you will understand and be able to relate to another, all you need to know about being saved.

The first word to remember is…

I. GRACE

“For by grace you are saved…”

We must all understand this: God was not required to offer salvation to anyone. He is perfectly justified in condemning all to an eternity separated from Him.

Our birth as sinners, our actions – choosing to sin – both require punishment. “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23).  Yet, God has offered an escape. He has offered a rescue. He offers preservation from destruction!

The very definition of saved is what God offers; and He does so “by grace.”

One of the most well-known verses in the Bible says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believed in Him would not perish, but be saved!” (John 3:16).  Jesus is the way of escape. He is the means of rescue. God gave His Son Jesus so you and I, and anyone who would believe in Him, could receive preservation from destruction; through Jesus we could be saved!

He didn’t have to, but because He “so loves” you, He wanted to!  God’s benevolence bestowed on the undeserving. That is GRACE; and by that, we can be saved.

Second word to remember is…

II. FAITH

“For by grace you are saved through faith…”

God’s part in someone being saved is GRACE. The person’s part – your part, my part, anyone’s part - is FAITH.  Without FAITH you cannot be saved.

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

You absolutely must have and exercise FAITH to be saved.  "Believe in your heart" – this is FAITH. It’s not something you see. It’s not something you hold; it’s not a math problem you solve; it’s not something you necessarily fully understand. It IS something you accept – you believe because God said it.

FAITH is believing; not hoping, but with confidence and conviction, believing. Not belief based on you or someone else, or anything of this world; but belief based on God, on His love and trustworthiness.

By the way, without FAITH it is impossible for you – or anyone – to please God.

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exist and rewards those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Some suggest that FAITH is foolish. They say it is the same as believing in spite of the facts; or believing when there is nothing to believe.  Are they right? What is faith?

Biblical FAITH is not merely intellectually agreeing with the truth. The Bible says: “The demons also believe – and they shudder.” (James 2:19).  Biblical FAITH means: believing God and acting accordingly. Actions based on your belief…this is true FAITH.

• It means accepting as true the Biblical message that God by grace has provided rescue; has provided preservation from destruction, for you.
• It means acting on that belief by committing your life to Jesus, letting Him save you; then stopping any attempts to earn your own salvation.
• It means continuing to act on your belief by letting Jesus lead you as Lord each day…letting Him guide in every decision, letting Him determine what is right or wrong for you, and trusting Him in all things.

GRACE is God’s part in us being saved; FAITH is ours.  “For by grace you are saved through faith…” That is, by believing and acting accordingly.

The third word to remember, in order to remember what being saved means, is…

III. GIFT

"For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.”

Did you notice: both parts of you being saved – God’s grace and your faith – are GIFTS from Him?

God gives you His GRACE; and He gives you the FAITH you need in order to believe. Truly, both the grace and the faith are a GIFT from God.  God literally hands preservation from destruction to you. All you have to do is open your heart and accept His free GIFT…and be saved.

Being saved simply is this:

• trustfully accepting from God what He has provided (even when you don’t totally understand what you are receiving); and,
• letting God give what He alone can provide (giving up on being able to provide rescue for yourself).

SALVATION is something you RECEIVE! It is a GIFT. God’s Gift to you!  In verse 9, Paul (almost being redundant) stresses this GIFT aspect of SALVATION:

"it is God's gift - not from works, so that no one can boast."

You have done nothing to earn salvation, either by being or doing “good.” All of mankind is equal before God as sinners, deserving punishment. No one may boast or point with pride to personal accomplishments in the area of SALVATION.  For no one has accomplished anything here…it is all from God! He has done it all.

Now perhaps these three words will help us remember what it means to be saved; how to be saved; to make sure we are saved; and even how to help others be saved! Here it is in a nutshell:

By GRACE – God’s unmerited favor – you have been saved through FAITH – believing and acting based on your believing; and not of yourselves, it is all God’s GIFT to you!

The reformer, Martin Luther, once wrote:

It is one thing to say, "Christ is A Savior." It is quite another thing to say, "He is MY Savior." The devil can say the first; but only the truly saved can say the second.

Is Jesus YOUR Savior? Are you saved? Have you received God’s gift, His rescuing you from the punishment your sins deserve?  Has this passage helped confirm that you are saved? Do you actively live based on faith – do you walk faithfully and obediently with Jesus each day?

Maybe you need to recommit yourself; at some point He saved you, but you’ve been doing your own thing. Not only is He your Savior – your rescuer – He is Lord. Commit to yield to Him; to follow Him.

These three words can help you share with someone else how they can be saved. How amazing would that be; to be used by God in such an amazing, eternity-impacting way? So commit to memory these three words.  Truly this is...

One small passage that can give you assurance, and help you bring others to Jesus!