How Should I Honor You with This, Jesus?

October 15, 2007 by admin.

1 Timothy 6:15-19

In the name of him who deserves all honor and glory, dear fellow recipients of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Does a day ever go by in which you don’t have to deal with money in some way? A day in which you didn’t have to pay a bill or take out your wallet or purse to buy something or use your credit card to fill up your car with gas or to buy groceries? It would be a rare day indeed! Whether we like it or not, money plays an important role in our lives. Every day confronts us with issues and decisions about money. But is that all life is about? Do we give the indication that our lives revolve around money and all the things that it can buy? If so, then we’re in direct conflict with Paul’s statement, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Php1:21). As our Lord himself tells us (Lk 16:13), “You cannot serve both God and Money.”

In our stewardship emphasis the past two weeks we’ve learned that living for our Lord affects our daily tasks and our personal relationships. Today we’re going to talk about a topic frequently found in Scripture. We’ll learn how living for the Lord also influences what we do with our daily resources. When using each blessing the Lord has given to us, let’s learn to ask ourselves:

“How Should I Honor You with This, Jesus?”

Sometimes we forget who we are and what we’re doing here on this earth, don’t we? We work hard and we play hard as if life is all about us and all about this world. But it isn’t about us, and it isn’t about this world. It’s about our God and living for him. That becomes clear the more we get to know our God, the one described in our text as “the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no once has seen or can see” (vv 15,16). We have a God whose power is unmatched by any on earth. He is so unapproachable in his full glory that no sinful mortal could see him and expect to live. He is King over all and Lord of all. If this is so, shouldn’t our lives be centered in him and consumed with him?

But are they? Or do we find ourselves easily tempted into chasing after another god, one more materialistic that promises happiness and contentment but never truly delivers? Are we guilty of taking the resources with which we’ve been blessed and elevating them above the one who has given them to us? We wouldn’t be the first to do so. Earlier in this chapter Paul tells Timothy (1 Ti 6:9,10), “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith.” It was happening in Paul’s day, and it’s still happening today. How often don’t we find ourselves in that revolving lifestyle of trying to keep up with everyone else but being unable to afford it? Or how often haven’t we equated happiness with having more things? What do we do to get out of a bad mood? We go shopping! We surround ourselves with “stuff,” being convinced that we deserve the latest and newest car or cell phone or computer or clothing. We love stuff – the best and newest stuff – and we love what gets it for us. In the end the love of money corrodes the heart and takes real life away instead of giving it. That makes money more than just a financial issue. It’s a spiritual one. If we were to use our bank and credit card statements as theological documents to show us who and what we worship, what would they tell us? Perhaps we’d see just how much money has become a god-like force in our lives, one that has become a genuine rival to our God.

God can put up with a lot from us, but he will not allow anything to rival him for our love and trust. That’s why Paul warns those who are rich “not to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (v 17). “But, Pastor, it says that Paul was to ‘command those who are rich.’ That leaves me off the hook, because I’m far from rich.” Maybe you don’t live in a mansion or drive a Rolls Royce, but how do you measure wealth? Let me tell you how rich you are and why Paul’s warning applies to you as well. Did you know that if you make more than $1500 a year (that’s less than $30 per week), you are still richer than 75% of the rest of the world? Do you realize that many of today’s so-called “necessities” such as cable TV, microwaves, a car for every driver in the family, cell phones, going out to eat, air-conditioning, airplane trips, cruises, and the like – all of these were considered extreme luxuries just two generations ago? My own personal inventory reveals cable TV (on each of the four TV’s in my house), two microwaves, a car for each of the two drivers, three cell phones, going out to eat, central air-conditioning in my house and vehicles, airplane trips – so am I rich? Guilty, as charged. And so are you.

So why don’t we feel rich? Why are we so discontent? Why do we feel so stressed out? Because we believe the devil’s lie that happiness is just around the corner, that contentment will come when we get just a few more things, that we’ll be satisfied when we can make just a little more money. The Lord tells us that by trusting in him we can be content with just having food and clothing, but we’d rather listen to the devil who tells us that we need so much more. The extremely rich John D. Rockefeller Sr. was once asked how much money it takes to make a man happy, and he said, “Just a little bit more.” Then, after he died, someone asked, “How much did he leave behind?” Someone answered, “All of it.” The writer of Ecclesiastes, believed by many to be King Solomon, puts it all in perspective when he writes (Ecc 2:18), “I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.” When it comes to money and all that it can buy, the saying is true – you can’t take it with you!

And yet you’ll always be rich, even after death, when you’re rich in faith. As a Christian you are blessed with a God who loves you and continues to work out your life according to his good purposes. Even though in his holiness he remains an unapproachable God whom no one can see and live, he chose to approach us through his Son who came into our world to provide meaning to our otherwise meaningless lives. He became our mediator, taking on the full punishment for all the times we’ve followed rival gods instead of the true God. He was put on the cross to rescue us from God’s anger – anger that we fully deserved – and to pay the debt of our sin so we could finally stand in God’s presence, sinless and righteous as he demands. When you live your life for Christ, he offers you a life that is far superior and longer lasting than anything this world advertises. He offers you an eternity with him in heaven!

Until we get there, the Lord calls us to live our lives for him. In Romans Paul writes (Ro 14:7,8), “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Live for your Lord, and you have to give up every allegiance that competes with him. That doesn’t mean having money is bad. Paul isn’t telling us that we have to live a life of poverty or feel guilty if his blessings to us happen to be financial ones. It doesn’t mean that we have to give all our money to the church (although I won’t stop you if you’re so moved!). Paul tells Timothy that he should let people know that the Lord “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (v 17). He wants us to enjoy life and whatever gifts of grace he gives to us. But he doesn’t want anything in our lives to take his place.

So we use our blessings to honor him. Paul writes (v 18), “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” Interesting, isn’t it, how materialism today has become to generosity what kryptonite is to Superman? How many truly generous people do you know? Generosity ought to naturally flow from the life of a Christian, and yet it seems to be headed for extinction. Just what is it that’s strangling your generosity? The worry of an overwhelming credit card debt? An excessive need for security that keeps your fists tightly clenched around your finances? A feverish pursuit of recreation or pleasure? Or, more simply put, have we put ourselves ahead of God and everyone else, choosing to live only for ourselves?

We need the antidote to selfish living, to learn once again what it means to be generous. Generosity begins with the desire to honor the God who dared to step into our world so that we could now share his. We do just that with our offerings. In Proverbs we’re told (Pr 3:9), “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing.” When it comes to our offerings, let’s ask, “How should I honor you with this, Jesus?” As for giving back to the Lord, keep in mind “the four P’s”:

Priority – You honor God when you put him at the top of your list – before your bills and your other purchases – and then determine your lifestyle choices from what’s left over. Put God first and it will help you focus your other priorities too.

Planned – God is honored when you determine ahead of time what you will give back to him instead of just giving whatever “the Spirit” moves you to give at the moment. Anything important involves planning – trips, birthday gifts, special meals. Why not your offerings to God?

Percentage – God is honored when you return to him offerings that represent the level of gifts he’s given to you. In Christian liberty he lets us choose what percentage to use, but let’s strive to show our love and trust in him with a significant percentage. If you need a goal, grab the Old Testament tithe of 10%, but use it as a benchmark, not a stopping point.

Plentiful – This is another word for generous. Give offerings that celebrate all the great things he has done. Give offerings that respond to crying needs. Give offerings that model those of the Macedonians, Christians who Paul said “gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability” (2 Co 8:3). That’s plentiful, generous giving.

The financial challenges we face leave little room for sloppy stewardship or misdirected loyalties when it comes to our offerings. Our synod is once again asking for a 10% increase in our mission offerings for 2008, a goal that I’ll be encouraging our voters to approve. Here in our own congregation you should be well aware of the challenge we face to come up with $179,000 in pledges over the next three years to help lower the interest rate for our next building program. And I know you have your own personal challenges tugging at your financial shirttails: braces, college tuition, house payments – fill in your own blanks. Let’s be reasonable! There’s only so much to go around!

Yes, let’s be reasonable and let’s see if we’re really asking the impossible. Take into consideration that the average WELS member doesn’t give 10% of their income to the Lord. They don’t even give 5%. The average is about 3%. Here at Messiah we do a little better, but not much, giving about 4% of our income in offerings. So do we have a leg to stand on if we’re going to argue that we can’t meet the financial challenges set before us because we don’t have enough from the Lord to go around?

In 2 Corinthians Paul tells us (2 Co 9:6), “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” Even better, listen to God’s challenge in Malachi (3:10,11), “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’” Honor me, the Lord says, and I will honor you. Turn your life over to him and learn to live generously for his purposes. As Jesus tells us (Mt 6:33), “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Let go of any sinful holds you may have on worldly wealth, and let God show you how richly he can bless you!

“How should I honor you with this, Jesus?” Christians who take this approach with their offerings have a new grasp on life. Paul describes them as those who “lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (v 19). By God’s grace you and I have the opportunity to take hold of that very same kind of life, one that honors God and brings us abundant blessings. This next week I ask you to take some time with your family to discuss how you can make an impact with your resources — an impact that will reflect your love for your Lord, an impact that will bring him honor. Make a commitment to grow in your faithfulness through your resources. Then step back and experience the lasting joy and impact it will have on you and on so many others!

“For me to live is Christ.” May that be your cause, your challenge, and your commitment!

Amen

–Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff

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