As we become a church, a community of people learning to follow Jesus in sync even while apart, we are working to be commited to five key things.  This week, we’re looking to be commited to generosity in our resources.  We want to be known for this as a community.

One of the first church leaders, Paul, wrote this to Timothy, who he was mentoring to lead churches after him:

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. – 1 Timothy 6:17-19 ESV

We asked yesterday if you knew anyone who worshipped money, and how you could tell.  That’s exactly what Paul is warning about here.  He doesn’t want the church to be a community where people set their hopes on material things.  If we do, we will quickly find they are not eternally safe.  Stocks fall, companies bankrupt, mortgages default, technology goes obsolete, and goods rot and rust away.

A right attitude about money and posessions doesn’t start with rules, principles or anything on this earth, rather it starts with God himself.  If you put your faith and trust in him first, you will see money and material differently as a result.  We’ll look at four shifts in our thinking:

It All Comes from God

God is not trying to take money away from us.  We are being invited to share in God’s work and to commit our resources to this work.  This invitation is always a privilege. It comes from our need for God, not God’s need for us

The book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell says something that Chrsitians have known all along.  He looks at highly successful people in our world, and searches for the origins of their success. Not once does he find a self-made person who engineered 100% of their own success.  Each had unique opportunities handed to them, that allowed them to excel.  This is how Christians have always known our lives to work!

This is a shift: We are now managing the money, time and talents that have been entrusted to us by God, in order to make sure that God’s work is done.  When applied to personal finances, to how we use our time and our natural skills and abilities, this is an absolutely radical concept. It goes to the very core of who we are and how we see ourselves.

We Need to Give

The conventional wisdom concerning money is that we have to learn how to hang on to it, not how to give it away.

We need to give in order to be free:  The seductive power of money is undeniable.  But it is disarmingly subtle.  In ensnares us without our even being aware of it.  It wraps chains around our hearts, our minds, our imagination without our even noticing….

There is only one way.  The power of money can only be broken by learning to give it away.  The basic question is simply, Will I control my money, or will my money control me ?

When we begin to give, the chains begin to break.  This can be very uncomfortable, frequently it is painful.  Yet once the chains are broken we experience the sheer exhilaration of freedom.  Only then do we realize how tightly the chains were wrapped around our heart.  Only then can we really understand what Jesus meant when he said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  We were created to give, not to hoard…Jesus wants us to be free.

We need to give in order to find fulfillment:
Enough always seems to be just a little bit more than I have right now.  A study was done by an economist called George Barna and it shows that most people seriously believe that they need approximately $8-10,000 more a year to live the way they would like to and no matter how much their income increases they still believe they need 8k-10k more.  They never find it.

People who give of their time and resources in service of others will tell you time and time again how incredibly fulfilling it is…that happiness doesn’t come from wealth, financial or otherwise, but rather because they are happy with what God has given, they are able to be contented and happy in all things, and that is a kind of wealth in itself that overflows into all parts of life.

Question: Have you ever found freedom or fulfillment in giving?  Why?

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - May 6, 2014

Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer Story

Pioneer Story

The book of Acts was written by Luke, a medical doctor who took an interest in the teachings of Jesus through his mentor, Peter. He’s examined the evidence for Jesus’ life in his earlier letter, the Gospel of Luke, and this time he’s looking at what happened to those who decided to continue folloinwg him. He’s writing to educate a Greek man named Theophilus, as he explains in the first few lines of the letter. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. (Acts 1:1-14 ESV) Main Points: The Pioneer The pioneer is alive, not dead. He is truly a pioneer, not just in innovative teaching, but he’s blazed a new trail through death to life again. He suffered, and they saw that either directly or simply as people in Jerusalem at the time, they would have known what happened. And now they saw “many proofs” as he appeared to them in person, alive, not dead. The Followers The Pioneer story is going to become their story, via the Holy Spirit. They will receive power from the Holy Spirit. They can follow Christ through death, and into life. They have a job to do before that happens – and they’re called to bravely and confidently do it together. Their mission is to bring the message of Jesus and his kingdom to everyone, in stages. They were to start in Jerusalem, those who would be quite like them. Then Judea, Samaria would mean reaching those close, with a few shared beliefs, but different enough to be a challenge. Then, they were to reach the ends of the earth – the entire world. Jesus has handed the baton to them, knowing he taught them what they needed, and would be with them through his spirit. The Ending This pioneer story has a great ending, but not yet. When Jesus returns to this earth, and ushers in his kingdom, the world as God originally created it – the kingdom of God. It’s clear from their question that the disciples expected this to come with the Holy Spirit, but Jesus makes clear they have a job to do with the Spirit, while they wait for Jesus’ second coming. When he does come, some will still be alive, but those who’ve died in Christ are raised like Jesus was to enjoy this kingdom. This kingdom of God was his message when he first started preaching publicly, it remained his message through life, and now we know it was his message in resurrection life too. See how the story of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection, are at the center of everything. Question: How do you already see the DNA of Jesus in this community of disciples? Read the Bible in Sync Today Meeting with a Group? Your discussion questions are in this week's Group Study Guide

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From Series: "Pioneer Story"

We read through the Book of Acts as a Pioneer Story for the church.

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