Here to There Week 1 – Initial Giver

Series Big Idea: Here is a place of financial stress and anxiety. There is a place of financial peace and freedom. If we hope to get from here to there, we will take the next step in our generosity journey.

Message Big Idea: If we hope to get from here to there, we will take the first step and become an initial giver.

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Proverbs 3:9

Introduction: Here to There We all know what it’s like to be (Stand stage right) HERE and want to be (Point stage left) THERE, don’t we? I certainly do. For example…

When it comes to being in shape, I want to be there…

But I know I’m actually here.

When it comes to your career, maybe you want to be there…

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But it often feels like you are here.

Or when it comes to the Chicago Bears, we want to be there…

But realistically, we know we’re here.

In so many areas of our lives, we know what it’s like to be HERE and to want to be THERE. And for many of us…the same thing is true when it comes to our finances.

You know what it is like to be HERE if you have a pile of bills and a mountain of debt and feel worried. You know what it is like to be HERE if you can’t afford the things you want and feel frustrated.You know what it is like to be HERE if you have everything you want, yet you still feel unfulfilled.

Worried. Frustrated. Unfulfilled. HERE is not where we want to be. And…it’s not where God wants us to be either. He wants to help us move from here to there. (Stage left)

THERE is a place of security, where we don’t have to stress about finances anymore.2

THERE is a place of satisfaction, where we no longer feel the compulsion for more and more.THERE is a place of significance, where our lives become meaningful and impactful.

So how do we get from HERE to THERE?

We believe that God, through his written Word, provides the wisdom we need to go from here to there. So over the next three weeks, we’re going to look to him to guide our steps. Each week of this series we’re going to focus on a step that can help take us from here to there. My prayer is that as we take this journey together, God will help each one of us discern where we are on the journey and fill us with the courage to take the next step. So let’s talk about the first step.

A Command for the RichThe first step from here to there is found in 1 Timothy 6 starting in verse 17:

“Command those who are rich in this present world…” -1 Timothy 6:17a

Now, before I go on, I have a hunch what many of us might be thinking: “This command’s not for me because I’m not rich.” Well, I get that; and I feel that. But before anybody says, “I’m not rich,” let’s take a look at something together.

If you have a smartphone, take it out and open your browser. (Screenshot of website and website address) I want you to go to the webpage www.globalrichlist.com. This website gives us the ability to quickly see how rich we are in comparison to the 7 billion other people on this planet. Using income as the comparison, select USA as your location and put in the rough estimate of your net income. Here on the screen, I’m going to show (Screenshot) the median household income in the United States, which is around $56K. When you hit “Show My Results” you can see where you rank on the global rich list. (Screenshot) For example, our median income of $56K would put us in the top 0.23% of the richest people in the world. The average U.S. household is in the top quarter of 1% of the richest people in the world!

Here are some other facts about a household with the U.S. median income… (Scroll down to capture these screenshots)

(Screenshot) In 1 hour, that U.S. family makes $29.17. Meanwhile, the average laborer in Indonesia makes $0.39 per hour.

(Screenshot) The average U.S. family makes enough in 1 minute to buy a can of Coke. The average worker in Ghana would have to work 7 hours to pay for the beverage.

(Screenshot) The monthly income of that U.S. family could pay the monthly salaries of 244 doctors in Kyrgyzstan.

I know many of us are struggling financially, but put in perspective, we have to understand that “rich” in this passage doesn’t mean Oprah or Mark Zuckerberg rich. “Rich” mean pretty much all of us.

Misplacing Our HopeThe verse goes on:

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor 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.” -1 Timothy 6:17

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Notice it suggests if we have a decent amount of stuff, we are going to tend to put our hope in money; there is a pull to put our hope in wealth. So many of us consciously or unconsciously think the thing that will help us go from HERE to THERE is more money. And so we misplace our hope…

Maybe We Hope Money Can Bring Security. Just think about how much time we spend thinking about what have in the bank, in our retirement accounts, or our kids’ college funds. We wonder, “Is it enough?” It’s like if we can get this magical “enough,” we’ll be ok. Our futures will be secure.

But we don’t have to think very far back to realize the faults in this thinking. When the markets crashed in 2008 so many of us saw our investments, our retirement accounts, our home equity, and, for some of us, our source of income disappear. If our security is based in money and wealth, none of us should ever feel secure!

We also misplace our hope when We Hope Money Can Bring Satisfaction. This usually has more to do with spending than saving. We spend and we spend hoping that the stuff we get will fill some kind of desire inside of us.

A guy named Martin Shkreli was in the news a lot the past couple years…maybe you’ve heard of him. He’s the guy who led the pharmaceutical company that spiked the cost of a drug from $13 to $750. As Shkreli got rich, he gloated on Twitter that he had purchased a rap album for $2 million dollars. The band agreed to sell only one copy of the album so that Shkreli could boast that he was the only one who owned it. He used his profits from the health struggles of others to buy a CD.

Now, maybe we’re not buying $2 million dollar CDs, but many of us count on money to bring us satisfaction. However, it’s a misplaced hope because the satisfaction money brings is short-lived, fleeting. It can never truly satisfy.

And another falsehood…We Hope Money Can Bring Significance. Some of us see money as an indicator that we’re important or successful.

It’s like this picture that boxer Floyd Mayweather posted on Instagram, which includes the caption: “I’m proud to be a King.” Can money really determine our worth?

(All 3 on screen) In what way are you tempted to misplace your hope in money? Security? Satisfaction? Significance? Maybe a combination? Me? Seeing money as a source of security is the most tempting for me. How about you?

The truth is…Money can’t bring security, satisfaction, or significance. As much as we fool ourselves into thinking it’s the answer, it can’t take us from here to there. In fact, when we put our hope in money; money actually becomes our master. How does this show up? It shows up in…

The average American household carrying over $16,000 in credit card debt. The average college undergrad graduating with $43,000 in student loans.

And it’s not just statistics.

It shows up when spouses argue and fight about money. It shows up when we are jealous or judgmental of people who have more than we do.

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It shows up when we live in a constant state of anxiety and worry about not having enough.

If you don’t hear anything else today, please hear this: There is a God who loves you and cares about you, and he doesn’t want you to have to live like that. (Stage right) He doesn’t want you to live HERE in this place of worry and frustration feeling unfulfilled. God wants to free you from the hold that money has on you, to be relieved of the pressure and stress of believing money is the thing that can take you THERE. Truth is, he wants you to feel secure, satisfied, and significant. (Onscreen: 1 Timothy 6:17) That’s why He says, “Don’t put your hope in wealth, put your hope in me.”

The Key: GenerositySo what does it look like to put my hope in God instead of money? If we continue reading in 1 Timothy 6, we discover the key that helps us go from here to there:

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” -1 Timothy 6:18

The key that helps us move from (Stage right) a life of worry, frustration, and feeling unfulfilled to (Stage left) a life of security, satisfaction, and significance…is generosity. Generosity is the vehicle that takes us from here to there. HERE is not the life that God wants for you. No, God wants to take us from HERE to THERE. And he asks us to put our hope in him, to trust him, and then he tells us the path from HERE to THERE is generosity. You see, generosity isn’t something God wants from you; it’s something he wants for you. He knows what generosity will do in you; he knows where generosity will take you.

Step One: Initial GiverSo if we really want to go from HERE to THERE, where do we start? The first step is to become an Initial Giver. It means just getting started…giving something back to him. It’s not about having a lot of money or necessarily giving a lot, it’s about taking the first step. Let me share three practical ways we can take this first step and become an Initial Giver.

1. Give FirstThe first practical way is to give first. In Proverbs, Solomon writes:

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your harvest.” -Proverbs 3:9

In an agricultural society, the first part of the harvest was valuable because it was the only part you knew you were going get. The second or third part of the harvest might not grow, might get eaten by insects, or not get enough rain. But the first part you have in your hand. So it was a real matter of trust in God to give to him from the first part, the “first fruits.”

Most of us are not farmers, but each paycheck is like a harvest. And the temptation is always to take care of my needs and my stuff and then give to God if there is any left over. But giving first says, “God, I’m giving this back to you for the good of others, and trusting you to take care of me.” A modern day response to honoring God with our first fruits would be to give back to God the first portion when we receive a paycheck.

At this initial step in generosity, it’s not about the amount given as much as getting EVERY person to take this step. Giving first starts us on the journey from here to there.

2. Give First Consistently

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Next, give first consistently. If we truly want to grow in generosity and break free from the hold money has on us, we have to come up with a plan for consistent growth. Think about it. It works the same way in every other area of your life.

If we want to get in shape, we can’t decide to take one initial trip to the gym, work out, and then say, “I’m ready for the Olympics!” Doesn’t work that way! Believe me, I’ve tried it.

If we want to eat better, we can’t eat healthy for one initial meal and then say, “Boy, I feel great. I’m healthy now.”

In the same way, if we want to grow a generous heart, we have to consistently practice giving back to God.

(Onscreen: 1 Timothy 6:18) Back to 1 Timothy, notices it says, “be generous” and not “do generous.” To “be generous” it has to become a habit, we have to do it consistently. So decide ahead of time how much you will give back to God first and do that consistently. One thing that can help with this is to set up a recurring on-line gift. That way it is automatic. It can help you be consistent. Maybe it is weekly, maybe it is monthly? I give twice a month because I get paid twice a month. Giving consistently can help us become an Initial Giver and grow in generosity.

3. Give in a Trackable Way.And a third idea: Give in a trackable way – online or with a check or in an envelope with your name on it.

Some people resist giving in a way that can be tracked thinking giving should be done in total secrecy. But you know how the first church collected their offerings? (Onscreen: Acts 4:34b-35) In the book of Acts, we learn people would bring their offerings and publically lay them at the feet of the church leaders. It’s debatable whether that would be weirder for me or for you! We are not going to do that, but the point is giving wasn’t some secret thing.

So why give in a trackable way? Giving in a trackable way provides a means for us to look back and see how we are growing. I like it when I get my annual statement from the church. I like seeing the annual totals for couple reasons:

1. I take it to my accountant and it is tax deductible – that’s nice!2. But more importantly, I like to see my total giving and the total percentage of my income I’ve given

away to see if I’m growing in my generosity. To see if I’m moving from HERE to THERE. Generosity is perhaps the most tangible way I can measure my spiritual growth.

Give first. Give first consistently. Give in a trackable way.

Generosity is the key that can help us move from HERE to THERE. Generosity leads to a life of security, satisfaction, and significance.

Story: Stephen KingI came across a story that I think illustrates what we’ve been talking about today. Any Stephen King fans out there? I don’t think he is normally associated with sharing timeless biblical truths, but in a commencement speech delivered to Vassar College he offered some powerful insights on today’s big idea:

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“A couple years ago I found out what ‘you can’t take it with you’ means. I found out while I was lying in a ditch at the side of a country road, covered with mud and blood and with the tibia of my right leg poking out the side of my jeans like a branch of a tree taken down in a thunderstorm. I had a MasterCard in my wallet, but when you’re lying in a ditch with broken glass in your hair, no one accepts MasterCard.

We all know that life is ephemeral, but on that particular day and in the months that followed, I got a painful but extremely valuable look at life’s simple backstage truths. We come in naked and broke. We may be dressed up when we go out, but we’re just as broke. Warren Buffet? Going to go out broke. Bill Gates? Going out broke. Stephen King? Broke. Not a crying dime.

All the money you earn, all the stocks you buy, all the mutual funds you trade – all of that is mostly smoke and mirrors. No matter how large your bank account, no matter how many credit cards you have, sooner or later things will begin to go wrong with the only three things you have that you can really call your own: your body, your spirit, and your mind.

So I want you to consider making your life one long gift to others. And why not? All you have is on loan, anyway. All that lasts is what you pass on…

We have the power to help, the power to change. Giving is a way of taking the focus off the money we make and putting it back where it belongs – on the lives we lead, the families we raise, the communities that nurture us.

A life of giving repays. It helps us remember that we may be going out broke, but right now we have the power to do great good for others and for ourselves.

So I ask you to begin giving, and to continue as you began. I think you’ll find in the end that you got far more than you ever had, and did more good than you ever dreamed.”

Conclusion: Life that is Truly Life(Onscreen: 1 Timothy 6:18) Generosity is something God wants for us, not from us. In 1 Timothy, Paul goes on to say that when we are generous…

“In this way they will 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.” -1 Timothy 6:19

That is what God wants for you and for me: the life that is truly life. God is at work right now restoring this world to the way he always dreamed it would be. There is coming an age when his work will be complete. But in this age, the here and now, we have the opportunity to join God in his amazing redemptive work on planet earth by being “generous.” We have the opportunity bring help, hope, and healing to people locally and globally so that more and more people will find their way back to God.

When our lives and resources are a part of something like that, we will “take hold of life that is truly life.” That’s what God wants for you and for me. A life that is secure; a life that is satisfying; a life that is significant! So if you’re new to this generosity journey, take the first step…become an initial giver. And then join us next week as we continue to move from HERE to THERE.

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Communion IdeaOf course when it comes to generosity, we can never out give God. The most recognizable verse in the Bible is a verse about generosity:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” –John 3:16

For God so loved that he gave… He gave the most generous gift that could ever have been given. When Jesus died on the cross he gave everything all so that you and I could find our way back to God. We can never out give God. But we can respond to his generosity by giving back to him.

Today, let’s remember what Jesus did for us on the cross as we receive Communion together.

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