Bob’s Blog

God is always in the midst of great darkness and despair, and when God’s people forsake him, he brings hope through the light of Jesus.

Many people today, even Jesus-followers, have lost sight of the simplicity and serenity of the Christmas season.  Jesus offers hope, joy, peace and love for the hurting and eternal life for those who are willing to accept the Father’s gift of light—the birth of his Son.  This Advent message series will help remind us all that Christmas is not about us—Christmas is Jesus!

In
America today, when most people think of Christmas, they think of certain images. (Show slides of Christmas images.)  We have a very glamorous, glittery, plastic, cheery, bright image of Christmas here in America. 

It’s a holiday of parties, and gifts and shopping and decorations. 

It’s a holiday loaded with nostalgia and memory. 

It’s a holiday full of children singing and Rockwellian images of snow covered roofs and Christmas trees

It’s a holiday of joy in discovering just what lies entombed within the shiny red, white, gold and green paper covered boxes under the tree.

We don’t really have a solid grasp on this holiday.  That’s largely due to the fact that we celebrate a holiday when the true celebration should be that of a HOLY DAY.  It must be made clear that Christ actually never called for us to celebrate, commemorate or in any other way remember his birth.  He did call us to celebrate and remember his death, but not his birth.  However, if we’re going to celebrate his birth, we need to focus on the Holy Event that occurred and not on the entire glitzy, sparkly minutia that accompanies our current celebration of Christmas.

Typically, we get so caught up in the celebration, the business, the shopping, the decorations, the grand memories, that we forget that there is a dark side to Christmas.  We often forget that it was because of despair, fear, anxiety, and suspicion that Christmas even occurred.

We’re so distracted by the bright lights of the holiday that we forget the darkness that brought us a Holy Day.  That’s why, this Christmas season, we’re looking at a message series called “Christmas is Jesus!” The focus is not the darkness, but the light of Jesus.  We don’t want to focus on the dark, negative, depressing aspects that are symptomatic of our need for Christmas, but we must understand the dark side so that we may have greater understanding of the amazing grace of God.  So that we may have a greater understanding of just what it was God gave us through the gift of his Son on Christmas.

We will center our attention upon four key declarations concerning darkness and light:

In the darkness of DESPAIR Jesus is the light of HOPE

In the darkness of FEAR Jesus is the light of JOY

In the darkness of ANXIETY Jesus is the light of PEACE

In the darkness of SUSPICION Jesus is the light of LOVE

This first Advent message will focus on the fact that God brought us hope from despair through the Father’s gift of light—the birth of his Son.  Traditionally Christmas is seen as a time of hope, but for so many people despair is the controlling emotion of their lives.  And that despair can bring a suffocating darkness. 

Despair = the lack of hope; to lose all hope;

to be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat.

Many people, of all walks of life, of all faiths, of all experiences find themselves buried in the darkness of despair so deeply that hope isn’t a glimmer in the distance; it’s barely a distant memory.  Yet, out of the darkness of despair, God brings Jesus—the light of hope.

To understand this hope, let’s look at the contrast between the darkness of despair Israel found themselves in, and the light of hope when God chose to bring his Son into the world. 

This contrast is illustrated in Isaiah 9:2-7…

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as soldiers rejoice when dividing the plunder.  4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.  

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  7 Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

We can observe in these verses a sharp contrast with the darkened condition found in Isaiah 8:22…

22Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

This condition of darkness was one in which the whole nation with but a few had forsaken the Lord. It is also seen that when we forsake the Lord there is darkness and despair. But the God of all grace is always in the midst of great darkness and despair, in the midst of sin and when God’s people forsake him, he shows grace and promises.

Their new condition will be based upon the fact that the darkness, and all the destructiveness associated with it, will be replaced by the light which inaugurates a new era of hope, joy, peace and love.

This despair represented two important movements:

Movement 1: A growing darkness

There was a growing darkness.  The Jewish people were called out of slavery in Egypt to represent God to the nations.  God always hears the cry of the oppressed.  However, God’s people failed to live up to their God given destiny and returned to slavery under the Babylonians.  The Persians defeated the Babylonians, giving the Jews a small degree of self-rule.  But the prophet Isaiah announced God’s promise of rescue through a child who would be born, a Son given.  Concerning the increase of his government and peace of this promised deliverer, there would be no end.  But the Old Testament period ends with a promise still awaiting fulfillment.

Movement 2: A ray of hope

The ray of hope, announced by the prophet Isaiah, begins approximately 700 years before Herod began his insidious reign over the Jewish people. Throughout those years of despair, bloodshed, disillusionment, betrayal, mistrust, anger and fear, there was a ray of hope.  The Jews knew that God had promised a deliverer. They knew that God had promised them that a day was coming when there would be judgment for sin and when they would be set free from their oppression. 

These two movements affirm the truth that sometimes hope comes from the most unlikely places.  We expect hope to come into the darkness of despair like a beam of light through the skylight of a king’s palace.  But God doesn’t always work that way.  In fact, God rarely works that way.  God sometimes chooses to come into the darkness like a shaft of sunlight through the broken ceiling of a dark and dusty barn.  Here, in Israel’s darkest hour, God sends them a deliverer, a Messiah, but he doesn’t send a ray of light into the darkness…he brings the ray of light, the SUN of RIGHTEOUSNESS out of darkness.  God brings HOPE OUT OF DESPAIR. 

God takes what would appear to be a hopeless and dark situation and brings to Israel—and to us—the hope that was longed for, the light that would do more than illuminate the darkness, it would eventually eradicate the darkness.  In the midst of Israel’s darkness and hopelessness God begins to work as only God can.  Through a young, unmarried teenager and her fiancé, both of whom have been terrified, God’s redemptive plan begins to unfold. 

Let’s imagine for a moment the deliverer of Israel, God’s “Treasured Possession” being born to a young Jewish girl through a situation that violated all the Jewish customs, norms and religious traditions.   Let’s imagine the deliverer being born in a stable during a time when the power of Rome held the people down like a boot on their backs.  Deliverers, Kings are not born in stables.  That’s not what we think of when we think of the God shattering the darkness with his light.  Surely God would use a powerful and royal Messiah.  Surely God wouldn’t take the darkness of an illegitimate child, born in a barn, to bring light and hope.

But that is exactly what God did.  He took the darkness that engulfed the people of Israel, he took the desperate situation of Mary and Joseph, he took the things that made no sense at all and out of that darkness and despair, he brought light and hope…not just for Israel, but for the entire world.  It’s just like God to take what’s weak, worthless, hopeless and dark and use it to bring light and hope to the world.

Light Promised and Practiced

God is not afraid of the dark. Out of darkness God can bring light and hope where otherwise there would be none.  So we return to Isaiah’s promise…

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned… 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Nothing is more beneficial to any one whom darkness has so overtaken than to find light; to have light provided for them. There are a number of reasons for this.

Because light gives illumination

Because light gives understanding

Because light shows the clear path to take

Because light drives away despair

Because light reveals what is in the darkness

The dimensions of this promised light are also beneficial to any one whom darkness has so overtaken to find light.  There are four dimensions.

“Wonderful Counselor” alongside to bring understanding

“Mighty God” above to provide protection

“Everlasting Father” underneath to offer care

“Prince of Peace” within to bring contentment

Just as the former things are spiritual realities, the Lord provides a remedy for this darkness of despair.  It is experienced practically in his Son.

Jesus is the light that gives the great hope of our text in Luke 1:78-79…

78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

The claim of the Savior in John 8:12 and 12:46…

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

This light in reality has come into the hearts of everyone that are saved in 2 Corinthians 4:6…

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

That we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness…into his light in Colossians 1:13…

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

When God is involved, out of darkness comes light.  Out of despair comes hope.  This truth is beautifully illustrated by the following testimony of a young woman who lost her husband to cancer.

This is my fourth holiday season without my husband at my side. His death in the spring of 2005 still rocks my recovering world especially in the holiday season. I can still replay our last Christmas together in my head. A new baby, our lovely 6 year old son and death loomed over our head. Dave’s diagnosis with stage four pancreas cancer had only come a few short months before in October. We were still in shock and still trying to comprehend. We were surrounded with support of our family, friends and faith community. There was light in the darkness, hope through our despair.

Advent has a way of pulling at me. Darkness, such deep seasonal darkness forces me to reflect on the darkness and despair I have walked through in the past few years. It also has such a strong force that makes me look at the light. The light always returns…how is that! Every fall, we walk into growing darkness and after sitting in the darkness for sometimes what seems like a lifetime…we are greeted by growing light and warmth. We all walk into despair and darkness in our lives. Advent gives us a moment to look at our growth or possibly lack of growth through these moments.  It is this great moment where we are invited to still ourselves and look at our darkest moments with the light of hope growing and inviting us into warmth, growth and love.

This Advent, I can certainly see my family’s growth in this time of tragedy. My children are still growing of course.  We have chosen to find hope in our lives again. It is definitely a conscious choice…time does not always heal. Holidays find so many of us blue and despairing, especially when times are tragic, but Advent reminds us that the light can grow. The seasons remind us that the light and warmth will grow with or without our consent. Our great Creator has built in this system, a cycle of hope for us to guide us through times of despair. It will always happen, God never gives up. Sometimes our loving God is just sitting in the darkness with us, still and present while building the light around us. Our Advent always culminates with the Light coming into our world. It is the gift that keeps on giving even when we feel weak and hopeless…the light will build. When we choose to turn toward the light, we open up a new time of love and growth that we may have never expected.

The Christmas story is a beautiful story from a growing darkness to a ray of hope.  It’s the story of God reaching into the darkness and, out of that darkness, bringing light, hope, and life.  It’s a story that we must never get tired of hearing.  It’s a story that, as we learn more and more about it, becomes more meaningful to us.  Every time we hear this story…the story of God bringing hope out of despair… we fall in love with it all over again.  I fall in love with the story of Christmas because it is MY story.  And if we really think about it and if we’re honest, it’s YOUR story too.

That first Christmas wasn’t all bright and cheery.  It wasn’t decorated with plastic trees, bright lights, candy canes and gifts.  The first Christmas came in a time of darkness and despair.  It was a time that many believed to be hopeless.  It was a time when people called out to God for deliverance, and God always hears the cry of the oppressed.  There was a dark side to that first Christmas, but God wasn’t limited by the darkness.  Instead, God used it to bring light and hope.  In the darkness of DESPAIR Jesus is the light of HOPE.

And here is the good news for us today; here is how this story is our story.  God still brings light out of darkness.  God still brings hope out of despair.  God didn’t limit his transforming power to the first Christmas.  God’s hope wasn’t dangled in front of Israel and all of humankind as a limited one time offer.  God makes it available to each and every one of us right here, right now.

I don’t know what despair you may be dealing with in your life this Christmas season.  I don’t know if it’s just a shadow of darkness or if it’s all consuming.  Debt, divorce, bad health, broken relationships, spiritual emptiness—whatever despair you are dealing with, whatever the situation you find to be hopeless, I know that God isn’t afraid of the dark.  I know that, just as he did the first Christmas, God will take that darkness and despair and he will bring light and hope…it’s what God does best.

If you are in the darkness right now, if despair describes your emotional state, your life—then I want to encourage you with the Christmas story.  It is a story of God taking despair…the despair of oppression, the despair of poverty, the despair of a hopeless pregnancy, the despair of a hopeless people and out of that despair bringing HOPE.  God will do the same with your despair.  That’s what God does best.  In the darkness of DESPAIR Jesus is the light of HOPE! Amen.

Jesus-followers are called to be partners with God in which we anticipate an absolute harvest because what is sown always determines what is reaped.

This stewardship series is entitled, Full Disclosure—a revealing link between faith and finances. Countless Jesus-followers are not aware of the connection between their faith and their finances. Many believers feel their income is too limited to give. Others want to share in the work of God’s kingdom, but don’t know where to start. How we handle our earthly possessions directly impacts our eternal soul.

We are living in a culture where we want full disclosure regarding our financial institutions, government, schools, work places, and even the church. When full disclosure is revealed, complete details of security vulnerability are disclosed to the public, including details of the vulnerability and how to detect and exploit. The theory behind full disclosure is that releasing vulnerable information immediately results in quicker fixes and better security.

Full disclosure provides a revealing link between faith and finances when dealing with the subject of Christian stewardship. The body of Christ, the church, must not keep secret the management of God’s resources. It must disclose to Jesus-followers the truth that the church becomes at risk when it fails to put into practice the irrefutable truths of being responsible for the management of God’s resources.

This message series on Christian stewardship centers upon three of these irrefutable truths:

Faithful Dependability—trustworthiness marks the true steward

Consistent Collection—consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry

Absolute Harvest—sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow bountifully, reap bountifully

Full disclosure of these irrefutable truths concerning the grace of giving has an undeniable capacity to transform our thinking and crystallize our priorities. This fact more than any other has motivated Jesus-followers to faithfully steward the resources entrusted to us by God.

Our first message highlighted the importance of Jesus-followers being trustworthy. They show a faithful dependability in managing God’s resources by giving full disclosure now and at the end of their earthly existence. Our second message disclosed the significance that consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry by offering weekly a consistent collection of what they have allocated in managing God’s resources. This final message in our series focuses upon an absolute harvest—sow sparingly, reap sparingly, sow bountifully, reap bountifully.

In civil law, changes occur constantly as legislators—our “lawmakers”—debate, devise and decide the standards that govern our lives culturally. Laws come and go as society evolves.

In criminal law, changes occur with less frequency but they do happen. For example, capital punishment was for many years allowed by the law, then for years it wasn’t, then again it was instituted. Such shifts are common in a complex, democratic system.

In spiritual law, however, changes do not occur at all, for there is but one Lawmaker and God never changes his character. Love and Truth remain constant. God may change his mind, but God doesn’t alter his nature, spirit and makeup. The Lord is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). God’s standards are fixed and permanent. Many of God’s spiritual laws have a counterpart in the physical world, and none is more evident than the spiritual law of Sowing and Reaping.

Paul refers to the spiritual law of Sowing and Reaping in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11…

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have scattered abroad their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

According to this spiritual law, we can observe in these verses that whatever is sown always determines what is reaped. If we sow corn, we’ll reap corn, not wheat or beans or rice. It is impossible to reap something different from what a person has sown. The truth applies in the spiritual dimension. There is an important corollary to the spiritual law of Sowing and Reaping, an essential principle of stewardship which we can identify as the irrefutable law of absolute harvest.

We find this same truth in the ancient Proverbs of King Solomon, many centuries before the time of Christ in Proverbs 11:25…

25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Absolute =

“the state or quality of being complete, unlimited and fixed”

The irrefutable truth of absolute harvest is unalterable; it is totally in God’s control. However, the decision as to what a person sows is an individual decision. God’s doesn’t force us to plant against our will; it’s up to us to plant good seed and cultivate good crops in the soil of life.

Give Cheerfully

The phrase “God loves a cheerful giver” has become a cliché for many Jesus-followers. Somehow we are supposed to smile as we drop those hard-earned dollars into the offering plate. Paul is not looking for people who are compelled to give by rules and manipulation, but from their own internal convictions. If treasure in heaven is the true goal of life, then we can be cheerful while giving up treasures on earth—treasures that are bound to disappear in any case. Many Jesus-followers are unable to be cheerful when they give because they have never known or experienced this inner change.

A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church. “Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself,” she told the girl. When they were coming out of the church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. “Well,” said the little girl, “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter and kept the dollar, so I did.”

Fortunately, the Apostle Paul’s words can become more than just a cliché. Paul insists that cheerful giving calculates into an absolute harvest in four measurable ways:

1. That we are never the loser because we are generous

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

We have already mentioned the spiritual law of Sowing and Reaping. Giving is like sowing seed. Those who sow with a sparing hand cannot hope for anything but a meager harvest, but those who sow with a generous hand will in due time reap a generous return. The New Testament is an extremely practical book and one of its great features is that it is never afraid of the reward motive. It never says that goodness is all to no purpose. It never forgets that something new and wonderful enters into the life of those who accept God’s commands as his law. But the rewards that the New Testament envisions are never merely material. It promises not the wealth of things, but the wealth of the heart and of the spirit.

2. That it is the happy givers whom God loves

7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

There was a rabbinic saying which said that to receive a friend with a cheerful countenance and to give him nothing is better than to give him everything with a gloomy countenance. To give with a dismal spirit is almost worst than not to give at all. Good and generous persons scatter their seed, that is they sow it not sparingly but generously; they give to the poor; and their action is to their credit and joy forever. There is indeed joy in giving.

3. That God can give us both the substance to give and the spirit in which to give it

8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have scattered abroad their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

Paul speaks about the all-sufficiency which God gives us. He does not describe the sufficiency of those who possess all kinds of things in abundance. It means independence. It describes the state of those who have directed life not to amassing possessions but to eliminating needs. It describes those who have taught themselves to be content with very little. It is obvious that those persons will be able to give far more to others because they want so little for themselves.

4. That it makes prayers of thanksgiving go up to God

11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

It extends prayers of thanksgiving upward to God. People around us will be blessed as they see our good deeds and glorify not us, but God. It is a tremendous blessing that something we can do can turn people’s hearts to God. This means that something we can do can bring joy to God.

When we count our blessings, we have more than we realize. Once we have declared God as Master of our possessions, we may be discouraged because of the big task before us. Johnson Oatman, Jr. wrote the following words to the hymn “Count Your Blessings,” taken from Psalm 40:5…

5Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

When you look at others with their hands and gold,

Things that Christ has promised you his wealth untold;

Count your many blessings money cannot buy,

Your reward in Heaven, nor your home on high.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,

Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

As we move into a Thanksgiving week, it might be good to take an inventory of the blessings we have received from God by faithfully sowing seeds of generosity.

Sometimes we are so busy adding up our troubles that we fail to count our blessings.

Here are some blessings that we may not have considered as important, but which have great value.

Family: How has God blessed us with our families? Parents, brothers, and sisters, a husband or a wife, children?

Friends: Who surrounds our lives? Family friends, personal friends, friends from church, other acquaintances?

Health: What are the good things about your health for which you can thank the Lord?

Food: Most of us, far from having to worry about starvation, have at our fingertips more than we need.

Home: We must think of the place we call home. We thank God for the comfort of our homes—shelter, heat, running water, toilets, electricity, and a bed.

Clothes: We thank God for the clothes that God he has so graciously provided for us.

Work: We thank God for the opportunity he has given us to work and provide for ourselves and our families.

Money: We consider not just our main income, but also the unexpected gifts that come our way—the possible appreciation in our homes and the profits we have seen in our investments.

Faith: Do we have hope beyond the physical boundaries of this life? We thank God for hope in this present life and in the life to come.

Through this exercise, we are able to see clearly the creative ways that God has blessed our lives. We will be surprised as we recall the friends who took us out to lunch, the hand that a neighbor gave in difficult yard work, and even the less-than-ideal crop of tomatoes in the garden. With this mindset we’ll begin to give, not out of compulsion or because we’ve been instructed in Scripture to do so, but out of a cheerful and grateful response to what God has done first. Giving is no longer a chore, but a joyful response because our generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Living Out the Absolute Harvest—

The irrefutable truth of absolute harvest is a truth that can clarify our thoughts and purify our motives. Remembering that we reap exactly what we have sown helps us to keep life in perspective and impels us to plant good seed at every opportunity.

We bear in mind these priorities:

We sow generously not sparingly. God gives us a supply of “seed” to be planted for his purposes. Whatever God supplies to us, we sow it generously and wisely. We don’t waste our time or resources sowing seeds of unrighteousness because all we’ll get is a crop of weeds. We sow with an abundant intensity and we’ll reap abundantly.

We never give up in doing good. Sometimes Jesus-followers are mocked as “do-gooders.” If it happens to us, we let them mock, because we will be the victors; those who do good will reap a great harvest. We keep up the good work! Tenacity in well-doing is a sterling quality of stewardship.

We develop patience. The spiritual harvest will come. It is a well-defined, well-ordered process that is in God’s hand, not our own. Just as a physical crop comes in its own time and on its own terms, the spiritual crop cannot be rushed. We till the ground, we sow the seed, we cultivate the plants, but God gives the increase—for he and he alone is Lord of the harvest.

Let’s support one another in these days to give Full Disclosure, a revealing link to our faith and finances in the body of Christ, the church. An awakening in the twenty-first century has the potential to make us realize that:

God has provided all our resources to sow wisely;

God has given us the responsibility to manage those resources as stewards;

We can choose to experience thanksgiving—the joy of being generous.

God will ultimately hold us accountable for Full Disclosure—how we use his resources. Such a realization could do no other than cause giving to escalate. Are we actively praying to the end? Are we attentively looking to God for an absolute harvest? Amen.

Jesus-followers are called to invest in God’s treasury fund by offering weekly a consistent collection of what they have allocated in managing God’s resources.

This stewardship series is entitled, Full Disclosure—a revealing link between faith and finances. Countless Jesus-followers are not aware of the connection between their faith and their finances. Many believers feel their income is too limited to give. Others want to share in the work of God’s kingdom, but don’t know where to start. How we handle our earthly possessions directly impacts our eternal soul.

We are living in a culture where we want full disclosure regarding our financial institutions, government, schools, work places, and even the church. When full disclosure is revealed, complete details of security vulnerability are disclosed to the public, including details of the vulnerability and how to detect and exploit. The theory behind full disclosure is that releasing vulnerable information immediately results in quicker fixes and better security.

Full disclosure provides a revealing link between faith and finances when dealing with the subject of Christian stewardship. The body of Christ, the church, must not keep secret the management of God’s resources. It must disclose to Jesus-followers the truth that the church becomes at risk when it fails to put into practice the irrefutable truths of being responsible for the management of God’s resources.

This message series on Christian stewardship centers upon three of these irrefutable truths:

Faithful Dependability—trustworthiness marks the true steward

Consistent Collection—consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry

Absolute Harvest—sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow bountifully, reap bountifully

Full disclosure of these irrefutable truths concerning the grace of giving has an undeniable capacity to transform our thinking and crystallize our priorities. This fact more than any other has motivated Jesus-followers to faithfully steward the resources entrusted to us by God.

Our first message highlighted the importance of Jesus-followers being trustworthy. They show a faithful dependability in managing God’s resources by giving full disclosure now and at the end of their earthly existence. This message focuses upon the need of a consistent collection. Consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry.

Time magazine reported in an article entitled, “The New Philanthropy,” that poorer Americans give a greater percentage of their income to charity. For example, it is now estimated that those who earn under $15,000 give 5.2 percent of their income; those who earn $15,000 to 32,000 give 3.3 percent; and those who earn $75,000 to $99,000 give 1.6 percent. Who gives the most? Well, those who lean toward the impoverished side of the spectrum when it comes to amount of income one earns.

The impoverished Jesus-followers at Jerusalem were in dire straits. We don’t know precisely why they were suffering so severely, but their situation was compellingly bad—so bad, as we noted in our first message, that the Apostle Paul instructed the believers in other places to take up a special offering for them. Paul reasoned in Romans 15:27 that “if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.” But it was important that the offering be given in the right spirit and in the right way.

The Baptist preacher just finished his sermon for the day and stood at the front of the sanctuary of the church for his usual greetings and handshaking as the congregation left the church. After shaking a few adult hands he came upon the seven year old son of one of the Deacons of the church. “Good morning, Jonathan,” the preacher said as he reached out to shake Jonathan’s hand. As he was doing so he felt something in the palm of Jonathan’s hand. “What’s this?” the preacher asked. “Money,” said Jonathan with a big smile on his face, “It’s for you!” “I don’t want to take your money, Jonathan,” the preacher answered. “I want you to have it,” said Jonathan. After a short pause Jonathan continued, “My daddy says you’re the poorest preacher we ever had and I want to help you.”

Paul describes how this offering was to be earmarked in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3…

1 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.

We can observe in these verses that they were to set aside or allocate an amount of money the first day of every week, in proportion to the Lord’s blessing upon them during the week. In the King James Version, a key phrase in this passage reads, “as the Lord has prospered…” The word prospered has a wonderful meaning in the original Greek language of the New Testament. Literally, it means “blessing in the good way.” That “good way” might be a good way in relationships; it might be a good way in deeper fellowship with God; it might be a good way in financial needs being met.

Now while the essential idea it to give of our material wealth as God enables us to obtain it, there is also prosperity of the soul that God gives. It is inadequate to measure our prosperity only in dollars and cents when God gives us so much in divine love, grace and mercy. We would be wise to think in terms of giving to God according to the full measure of his blessing.

Let’s imagine for a moment that each time God unfolded a new truth to us or answered a prayer or delivered us from danger, we would honor his gifts with an appropriate response. Let’s imagine how much richer our lives would be. In the larger context, financial gifts seem the very least we can do in obedience to the Lord and appreciation for God’s goodness.

The irrefutable truth of consistent collection, the principle at the core of Paul’s instruction in these verses, teaches us that consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry.

Consistent =

The state or quality of being steady, unswerving and unfailing

in the midst of conflicting or contradictory circumstances.

Consistency has the potential for drawing people closer together when facing adverse times. Many people today are nervous and terrified about many of the things happening in their culture. Consistent giving creates a bond in relationships when circumstances are shaky.

Practical Plans

Paul gets down to the practical things of ministry. There isn’t a legalistic demand that the believers give an amount of money every week to the Lord’s work, but that they plan to give in a practical way—regularly and consistently. God’s desire is that things be done decently and in order, not in chaos or uncertainty. When there is a need, God’s practical plan is that his people give responsively to meet it.

2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

So consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry. Consistent giving is a measure of how serious we take our Christian stewardship before God.

Ronald Vallet writes…

Stewardship is nothing less than a complete lifestyle, a total accountability and responsibility before God. Stewardship is what we do after we say we believe, that is, after we give our love, loyalty, and trust to God, from whom each and every aspect of our lives comes as a gift.

Key Principle: People who give to the cause of a mission grow in their love for the cause to which they give.

The ongoing operation of a church’s ministry, for example, requires the ongoing support of faithful believers. Full disclosure—a revealing link between faith and finances is exercised. Just as we commit ourselves to causes in our community, we give to the cause of the church. Thereby, we grow in our love for the cause to which we give.

[Let’s note our ‘Faith Share’ brochure located in our church bulletin.]

Over the years I’ve watched this principle vividly play out when men, women, boys, and girls invest their lives in God’s treasury fund. There is ministry awareness, ministry support, and ministry involvement. Ministry awareness simply focuses on the need. Ministry support funds the need. Ministry involvement fuels the meeting of the need. When Jesus-followers not only give of their money, but of their time and talents to meet a need, they grow in their love for the cause to which they give.

Whether it’s going to Thailand, to Tijuana, to Samoa, to New Orleans, to Los Angeles or serving locally in our church through a kingdom assignment, faith-in-action project, teaching a class, or leading a ministry—we give not only of our money but of our time and experience. In the process of bringing our plans to completion we meet all the needs of those who need Christ’s love and our eyes are open to Christian mission and service. Not only are our efforts significant in advancing Christ’s work, but one of the valuable by-products is a group of Jesus-followers who invest in God’s treasury fund through their money, time, and talents. They now have a much larger interest in the needs of their fellow human beings around them. They truly understand the importance of supporting weekly the work of the church.

So as we understand the importance of supporting weekly the work of the church, there are a number of stages that provide a paradigm for us to assess where we are in the revealing link between our faith and finances. These stages are developmental in nature—the deeper the stage, the deeper the level of maturity. We all make choices daily as to the trail we will follow when it comes to a consistent collection.

Imitator—is able to mimic the examples of others in giving when shown or instructed.

Modeler—gives sporadically when given an example to follow.

Conformer—gives because it is the thing to do. Likes recognition, tax benefits and other personal gain from giving.

Individual—starts to give in proportion to what God has given. Danger of becoming prideful regarding giving or giving for the wrong motives.

Generous Giver—recognizes that all one owns is from God. Begins to give of one’s own initiative, rather than out of obligation or routine. Derives joy from giving.

Mature Steward—recognizes the role of a faithful steward of God’s possessions. More concerned with treasures in heaven than on earth. Content with daily provision.

Living Out the Consistent Collection—

Consistent contributions to the Lord’s work are acts of worship, expressions of devotion to God. It is important that we give on a continuing basis because it demonstrates that we recognize the Lordship of Christ. The spirit in which we give is also important:

We give with consistent gratitude. Everything in our hands has come from God’s hand, and we are but channels through which God’s work is carried out. When we live in primary consideration of God, gratitude minimizes our tendencies to squander our resources on self-gratification.

We give with consistent sacrifice. David said, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). Sacrifice always costs, but it has less to do with how much we give than how much we give up. In the measure of sacrifice, we must ask, “what does this truly cost me?” When we pay a sacrificial price we accentuate the sacred over the secular—the eternal over the temporal.

We give with consistent praise. The distinction between gratitude and praise is this: gratitude is appreciation for what God has done; praise is appreciation for who God is. King David knew the distinction: “Now our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name” (1 Chronicles 29:13). As we worship the Lord daily in times of meditation and prayer, we must remember that God is our provider and we commit ourselves consistently to being a good steward of his provision.

So God wants us to invest in his treasury fund. Obviously, God doesn’t need our money. If this is the case, why does the Bible tell us over and over to honor God with the first part of our income? God wants us to give the first part of our income consistently because doing so reveals the state of our heart.

Jesus says the familiar words in Matthew 6:21…

21 “For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Jesus said that wherever our treasure is, our heart is going to be there.

Would we like to get interested in, say, Microsoft? There is a way to do it very quickly: buy shares of Microsoft. All of a sudden we will become very interested in articles about Microsoft. Do we want to be interested in an insurance company? Then buy some shares in that company. Do we want to be interested in Christ First Baptist Church? Then commit some faith shares in the church. The Bible says that wherever we put our treasure, our heart is going to go there. This is why God says, “I want the first part of your money because our heart will follow and come to me.”

Let’s get practical when it comes to a consistent collection.

If the principle, consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry is applicable to Jesus-followers today, then worship is the gift given when and where we worship. In our text, we have noticed that Paul says to give every Sunday, meaning that worship is the weekly giving of what we have put aside or allocated from our earnings. This means the worship gift is planned on a weekly basis.

Annual income: $52,000 $26,000

Tithe (10%): 5,200 2,600

Weekly Offering: 100 50

We place in a giving envelope each week the amount that week’s offering represents. If not attending worship on a given week, then we bring to our next worship experience the accumulation of the weekly offerings. Thus, we plan to give weekly and it also helps the church consistently through the year on a regular basis. Consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry.

Ron Blue, a Christian financial adviser, writes…

We plan for retirement or for starting a business or for funding our children’s education, but few of us have a plan for giving. There will always be unlimited ways to use limited resources, and—unless we plan ahead—we will only be able to give the leftovers, if anything. Even an increase in our salaries won’t make any difference. Needs always expand to meet income.

Thus, giving is planned, not just spontaneous. Perhaps we think that the greatest kind of giving is spontaneous, like after suddenly being moved by a sermon or a video and finding ourselves pulling out our wallets and just giving everything we have. This type of spontaneous giving is actually not the best kind of giving.

God says he wants us to plan our worship giving because he says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Because God wants us to love him with our mind, not just our heart we should plan our worship giving.

This point is clear: God expects us to give to this treasury fund before we give to any other fund or cause. God desires this because he wants our heart. We give our undesignated gift to the treasury fund (general fund), as an act of worship, when and where we worship.

Let’s encourage one another in these days of economic insecurity to give Full Disclosure, a revealing link to our faith and finances in the body of Christ, the church. We can order our lives to set aside a portion of our money for God, a portion of our savings, and a portion for spending. To handle them rightly with consistent collection because consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry! Amen.

Jesus-followers are called to show a faithful dependability in managing God’s resources, giving full disclosure now and at the end of their earthly existence.

This stewardship series is entitled, Full Disclosure—a revealing link between faith and finances. Countless Jesus-followers are not aware of the connection between their faith and their finances. Many believers feel their income is too limited to give. Others want to share in the work of God’s kingdom, but don’t know where to start. How we handle our earthly possessions directly impacts our eternal soul.

We are living in a culture where we want full disclosure regarding our financial institutions, government, schools, work places, and even the church. When full disclosure is revealed, complete details of security vulnerability are disclosed to the public, including details of the vulnerability and how to detect and exploit. The theory behind full disclosure is that releasing vulnerable information immediately results in quicker fixes and better security.

The issue of full disclosure was first raised in the context of locksmithing, in a 19th century controversy regarding whether weaknesses in lock systems should be kept a secret in the locksmithing community, or revealed to the public.

Full disclosure provides a revealing link between faith and finances when dealing with the subject of Christian stewardship. The body of Christ, the church, must not keep secret the management of God’s resources. It must disclose to Jesus-followers the truth that the church becomes at risk when it fails to put into practice the irrefutable truths of being responsible for the management of God’s resources.

This message series on Christian stewardship will center upon three of these irrefutable truths:

Faithful Dependability—trustworthiness marks the true steward

Consistent Collection—consistent giving facilitates consistent ministry

Absolute Harvest—sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow bountifully, reap bountifully

Full disclosure of these irrefutable truths concerning the grace of giving has an undeniable capacity to transform our thinking and crystallize our priorities. This fact more than any other has motivated Jesus-followers to faithfully steward the resources entrusted to us by God.

What we do with our resources has a huge effect on the Christian life—in the present and in the future. It influences both the temporal and the eternal!

The Apostle Paul infers that there will come a time of full disclosure for every believer in 1 Corinthians 3:13, TLB…

There is going to come a time of testing at Christ’s Judgment Day to see what kind of material each builder has used. Everyone’s work will be put through the fires so that all can see whether or not it keeps its value, and what was really accomplished.

We can observe in this verse that Paul knew that his accomplishments would be evaluated one day on the basis of his work when revealed by Christ and tested by fire. What we do with our resources will also be judged by this standard. When Judgment Day comes for each of us, there will be full disclosure—our work will be revealed.

William Arthur Ward writes…

“Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life, not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving, not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness, not by our seeming greatness.”

Top 10 Things You Never Hear in Church:

10. Hey! It’s my turn to sit in the front pew. 9. I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes overtime. 8. Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf. 7. I’ve decided to give our church the $500 a month I used to send to TV evangelists. 6. I volunteer to be the permanent teacher for the Middle school class. 5. My devotions and prayer time at 5:a.m. really make my day! 4. I love it when we sing songs and choruses I’ve never heard before! 3. Since we’re all here, let’s start the service early. 2. Pastor, we’d like to send you to this Bible conference in Hawaii. 1. Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship message series!

Well, this first message in this series highlights the irrefutable truth of faithful dependability. Trustworthiness marks the true steward of God.

Bill the Bible college student was taking a test. After cruising through a number of questions on the life of the Apostle Paul he came upon one that stopped him in his tracks. “In 150 to 200 words, describe Paul’s attitude toward the Macedonians.” Bill reasoned that the Macedonians represented a nation that rose to world-wide power and presented a threat to Christianity. So Bill wrote an appropriately lengthy explanation. As Bill learned to his chagrin, the Macedonians were not a dreaded nation, but a dedicated people among the churches of Macedonia who advanced the work of Christ by their rich generosity in the midst of very severe poverty.

In Paul’s letter to the believers in Corinth, he writes about these remarkable people, and the description is both encouraging and convicting.

Let’s note our passage of instruction from 2 Corinthians 8:1-9…

1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they went beyond our expectations; having given themselves first of all to the Lord, they gave themselves by the will of God also to us.

6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

The Macedonians were above all, believers who could be counted on. In the situation of severe poverty they desired to share with the Lord’s people in a collection, helping the mother church in Jerusalem that had become poor. Many of Paul’s so-called friends and co-workers had deserted him, but not the Macedonians. They were living examples of the irrefutable truth of faithful dependability that Paul taught to the Corinth believers in 1 Corinthians 4:2…

Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

Another translation puts it this way: Now what we look for in stewards is that they should be trustworthy.

Trustworthiness =

the state or quality of being honest, dependable,

and constant in the face of dishonesty, irresponsibility and infidelity.

Trustworthiness—the Mark of Excellence

Trustworthiness—faithful dependability—is the mark of excellence in a faithful steward of God. The Macedonians epitomized this quality in all of their service for the Lord. The Macedonians understood perfectly that as stewards for Christ’s sake they were co-workers, not competitors.

Paul teaches four principles of faithful dependability to appeal to the Corinth believers:

1. Giving is more a matter of the heart than of circumstances

1 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity… 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

Everything about the circumstances in the Macedonian churches would have suggested that, because of their own needs, this was not a good time for them to be concerned about the needs of others. They were experiencing both deep poverty and a very severe trial, and yet they participated liberally and joyfully in the offering.

Many people would say today that in the midst of our financial and economic crises that this is not a good time to be concerned about the needs of others in supporting the work of Christ. A few people would even say that this is not a good time to present a message series on Christian stewardship and talk about finances. On the contrary, like the Macedonian believers, we can respond with an overwhelming joy in giving to advance Christ’s work in the Covina Valley and beyond, even in the midst of economic crisis.

Poverty does not automatically create unselfishness nor does persecution automatically produce giving. Those who insist they were much happier when they had less need to remember that it isn’t what we have or don’t have that promotes happiness or generosity. The difference, according to Paul, is the grace of God which creates an open and generous heart. Anyone within the church community who feels that the raising of money is nothing more than finding a way to pay the bills will profit by carefully reading Paul’s words, but since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. These words stress the truth that learning to be generous with material things is a matter of spiritual growth and maturity.

2. Giving becomes a joy when it comes out of sacrifice than of substance

3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability… 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

This principle is a paradox. Paul’s mode for sacrificial giving was Christ himself, though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. The Macedonian Jesus-followers had taken Christ’s model, and in total disregard for their present needs or future requirements, they gave even beyond their ability. Theirs was a sacrificial offering and it became an inspiration for Jesus-followers everywhere. Giving became a matter of sacrifice, not merely the giving of stuff.

By contrast, I sometimes feel there is little sacrifice in much of our giving. Christmas is rapidly approaching. At Christmas time our tendency is to spend more on presents for ourselves and family than we give to the Lord. And it has been estimated that the personal budget of most church people for sporting events far exceeds gifts to religious and charitable causes.

For the most part, there’s little sacrifice or joy for many people in our giving. But Paul lays down the principle that people who give generously out of love for the Lord and his church grow and mature in their faith because they count the cost and are willing to make the sacrifice.

3. Giving is a matter of purpose than of pressure

3 …Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.

The Macedonians didn’t have to be pressured into giving. On the contrary, Paul says they gave entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded for the privilege. They evidently felt an inner prompting of concern rather than outward pressure which compelled their giving. They were not reluctant, but joyful in their stewardship.

This pattern of giving out of concern and not coercion is illustrated by a wise woman who was traveling in the mountains and found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to freely and without constraint give me this stone.”

Joy and Christian growth come to those who gladly assume the responsibility for the Lord’s work.

4. Giving flows from the gift of self than of selfishness

5 And they went beyond our expectations; having given themselves first of all to the Lord, they gave themselves by the will of God also to us.

Finally, Paul tells us that joyful giving flows freely from the gift of self. His statement that having given themselves first of all to the Lord, they gave themselves by the will of God also to us, gives us the secret to their generosity. There is a sense in which the only thing we can give to God is ourselves, and this is the gift that needs to come first. Those who give their money but not their hearts have made a lesser gift.

A pastor was sitting in an executive suite high above the city visiting with a very successful businessman who tried to impress this pastor with his religion by saying, “Reverend, every week I have my secretary mail a check to my church.” This commitment reminded this pastor of the missionary who was witnessing to the chief of a very primitive tribe. In response the chief tried to impress the missionary with gifts of horses, blankets, and jewelry. But the missionary said, “My God does not want the chief’s horses or blankets or jewelry. My God wants the chief himself.” Then the chief smiled and said, “You have a very wise God, for when I give him myself he also gets horses and blankets and jewelry.” This chief showed more wisdom than the wealthy businessman friend.

So Christlike stewardship is the by-product of a Christlike attitude toward our faith and finances. That attitude begins by first giving ourselves to God. Faithful dependability as a Christian steward relates to the management of money, but also to a great deal more. The “portfolio” for which we are responsible includes a wide range of components, and God’s expectation is that we make the most of each one.

A Tool, A Test, and A Trademark—

At the heart of the management of God’s resources is ordering our faith and finances. We need to understand how God views this process. The process is three-fold:

A Tool—our possessions are to be used as a tool to further God’s kingdom here on earth.

To be a trustworthy steward, we must handle the small things with the same regard as the big things. The irrefutable truth of faithful dependability applies to the minor as well as the major things of life. The greater our dependability, the greater our blessing.

A Test—our possessions are given to us as a test to see how much responsibility we will be given in heaven.

To be a trustworthy steward, we must see everything in life as sacred. The irrefutable truth of faithful dependability includes everything in life. Everything is to be devoted to the Lord. Whatever our talents, whatever our treasures, whatever our time, all are to be dedicated to the God’s purpose.

A Trademark—our possessions serve as a trademark to those around us that we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

To be a trustworthy steward, we must share the secret things of God liberally. The irrefutable truth of faithful dependability gives permission to share the secrets of God openly. We show and tell them freely, for no area is more important than the stewardship of the Gospel.

Let’s take inventory and think of all the “personal assets” we have under management:

Who we are as a person: character development, spiritual and emotional maturity.

Who we are in our connection with God: knowing Jesus, growing spiritually.

Who we are in our relationships: loving, forgiving, encouraging, serving.

Who we are in our higher purpose: using our treasures, time and talents uniquely.

Added to this long list are the “spiritual assets” with which we are entrusted:

The Gospel of Christ, the mystery of godliness, the secret things of God.

Pastor Rick Warren, best-selling author of the Purpose-Driven Life, says… “there are very few things that I would rather talk about than generosity and giving. Through learning to give by faith, I have increased my faith, grown closer to Jesus Christ, and my heart has been changed more than any other discipline in my life. Giving is the fundamental issue of life. Everything is God’s, and we are simply stewards of what he gives us.”

Rick says God wants us to invest in his service fund by following the example of the Jesus-followers at Macedonia because “they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will.” Rick shares an illustration of a Korean church in Los Angeles. A couple of years ago he was at a Korean church that owned nearly an entire block, and he asked them how in the world they got an entire block of downtown property. They said, “We sold our blood.” They were all poor and didn’t have anything, so they started selling their own blood. All of the profit enabled them to build their church and thereby reach out to other poor Koreans in downtown Los Angeles who were desperately in need of the love of Jesus Christ. They literally gave their blood for that church. By investing in God’s service fund and giving more than they could afford, the members of this Korean church were showing faithful dependability by their trustworthiness.

So we invest in God’s service fund by using some of our money to expand our ministry. Ministry is meeting needs in the name of Jesus Christ. Anytime we help anybody else in the name of Jesus Christ, whether it’s financial, physical or emotional needs, we are ministering to them. By using our talents, our gifts, our background, our assets, our resources or whatever God has given us to help other people, we are ministering. When we get to heaven one day, God is going to ask us to give full disclosure—what we did with what we were given.

This is no small responsibility we bear—offering Full Disclosure, a revealing link to our faith and finances. To handle them rightly with faithful dependability demands absolute trustworthiness! Amen.