Rev. David Holwick C We Are Gifted, #3
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
January 25, 2009
1 Peter 4:10-11
THE GIFTS OF GIVING
I. THE SMELL OF SERVANTHOOD.
A. The odor in the sanctuary is from the homeless dinner.
1) We prepared London broil with cream of mushroom soup and
dried onion mix.
2) For 157 people, that means 50 pounds of beef and 34 cans
of soup, all in big crock pots.
3) One of the crock pots got a little carried away...
a) But we fed the homeless for $1.39 each.
b) And the odor should dissipate in a few months.
B. The spiritual gift of giving is one of the most prominent.
1) It is described as serving, giving, and helping.
a) Some call it the "gift of helps" for short.
2) Every Christian is supposed to have a servant's heart.
a) Jesus is our role model in this.
3) But some are better at it than others.
a) They are like WD-40 in that they keep the church
rolling.
b) Perhaps you are one of these gifted people.
c) Even better, perhaps you could become one.
II. WHAT HAPPENS FROM THE SPIRITUAL GIFT OF GIVING.
A. Other people are built up. Eph 4:11-12
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets,
some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body
of Christ may be built up..."
1) You might say that my job is to draw the gift of service
from you, so you will be a blessing to others.
2) The gift of giving should not result in belittling people
or running them down.
3) They should feel better after they receive your act of
service.
B. God is lifted up. 1 Pet 4:11
"If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength
God provides, so that in all things God may be praised
through Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."
1) You probably have the gift of giving if the recipients
praise God instead of you.
a) The spiritual gift always has a spiritual payoff.
b) We do not help people just so they will get saved, but
genuine Christian service often has this result.
Charles Colson this week mentioned an article he had read in
the Times of London online.
It was written by Matthew Parris, an English journalist who
had visited the poor African country of Malawi.
Parris observed a charity that provided water pumps to rural
communities.
He noticed that the charity's African leaders were strong
Christians who gently demonstrated their faith in quiet
conversation and action.
These Christians, he wrote, were a "different" kind of people.
Their faith seemed to give them what he describes as a
"liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world,
[and] a directness in their dealings with others."
"In Africa," he writes, "Christianity changes people's hearts.
It brings a spiritual transformation.
And the rebirth is real. The change is good."
What makes his statements all the more remarkable is that
Matthew Parris is an atheist.
He does not believe there is a God.
But he also admits that what he saw among Christians in
Malawi has shaken his unbelief.
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2) Don't just praise God, but direct people to him.
a) The best help people can get is from God himself.
1> We are usually giving them Band-Aids.
2> God gives real healing if they have the faith
to receive it.
b) When the apostles healed strangers, their next step
was to lead them to salvation.
C. The helper is humbled.
1) There are many motivations for doing good.
a) For one thing, it can make you look good.
b) How many politicians have dished out Thanksgiving
dinners to the homeless without getting their
picture taken?
2) Christian writer Richard Foster describes the qualities
of human service vs. genuine service:
Human-centered service:
1. Concerned with impressive gains and focuses on results.
2. Requires external reward, appreciation, and applause.
3. Affected by feelings.
4. Insists on meeting the need; it demands the opportunity
to help whether they want it or not.
Christ-focused service:
1. Doesn't distinguish between small and large.
2. Content to be hidden. God's approval is sufficient.
3. Free of the need to calculate results.
It delights only in service.
4. Ministers simply and faithfully because there is a need.
The service disciplines the feelings.
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3) The best service is unseen, except by God.
III. AREAS WHERE THE SPIRITUAL GIFT OF GIVING IS BEST SEEN.
A. Charity.
1) The churches in America provide multitudes of services for
the poor and needy.
2) Think of all the food banks and thrift shops.
3) A group in our church is going to have a special fundraiser
this year.
a) --not for the new annex, or even the youth group.
b) They want to raise money so they can go on a mission
to Camden, one of the poorest cities in the state.
4) If you have a burden for helping the poor, there are many
opportunities.
B. Hospitality.
1) Opening your home to others.
a) It takes a special gift to do this graciously.
b) Many in this church have opened up their homes to
weekly Bible studies.
c) Others have invited missionaries over.
2) Even just having your neighbors over, can lead to
effective ministry.
C. Helplfulness.
1) These are the ones who get things done for others.
a) Maybe they fix a sink.
b) Or run an errand for you.
2) In our busy world, it can be hard to do it all.
a) Thankfully there are a few Christians step in at
just the right time to make life easier.
b) A great example is our homeless dinner. (sniff sniff)
1> The regular leaders could not come.
2> So other people stepped in and took over.
IV. IT'S NOT JUST WHAT YOU DO, BUT HOW YOU DO IT.
A. Attitude matters.
1) Paul says if you give, you should do it with a generous
spirit.
2) As a Christian, of course, you can serve even if you have
a rotten attitude about it.
a) You just don't have the spiritual gift.
B. Let God give you the strength. 1 Pet 4:11
1) A ministry of helping can be hard.
2) So Christians must be harder.
Trevor King is the founder of the Westside Mission in
Sydney, Australia.
He was delivering food to a destitute family in his area
when two men arrived to repossess their personal items.
When one of the repo men started pushing the lady of the
house around, King stepped forward.
According to the husband, the repo man said to King,
"Get out of the way, you silly old goat."
Trevor King is 78 years old.
He has leukemia -- and a bad heart.
But he took the repo guy out with one punch.
Fifty years ago he was a featherweight boxing champion.
When the second repo man saw his partner go down, he
repeatedly punched King in the stomach.
But when King didn't even flinch, the man fled.
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You don't have to be a boxer to be successful in the
gifts of giving.
But you do need strength.
Ask God to give you what you need.
V. IT'S NOT MUCH OF A GIFT UNLESS YOU USE IT. Rom 12:7
A. Paul says simply, if your gift is serving, then serve.
1) You don't have to set the world on fire.
2) Small actions have a way of multiplying.
Over 150 years ago, Rev. Sydney Smith wrote:
"It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because
you can only do a little. Do what you can."
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B. What can YOU do?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 369 "Two Kinds Of Service," by Paul Robbins, Leadership: The Back Page,
Fall 1988, p. 146.
#16605 "Do What You Can," by Rev. Sydney Smith (1771 - 1845),
Bits & Pieces email newsletter, August 11, 2000.
#35603 "One Atheist Who Gets It," by Charles Colson, BreakPoint Commentary,
January 21, 2009.
#35604 "It Takes A Tough Man To Run A Mission," by Randy Cassingham,
This Is True; http://www.thisistrue.com, December 28, 2008.
Original source is the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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Biblical passages:
A. 1 Peter 4:11 - serve with the strength God provides.
1) If anyone - not everyone all the time
2) purpose is that in all things God is praised through Jesus
Christ.
a) true service draws attention to Jesus, not us.
B. Romans 12:6 - if your gift is serving, do it.
1) 12:8, If it is giving to needs of others, do it generously.
a) Australian guy who decks out a repo man
C. Ephesians 4:12 - purpose of all leaders is to prepare the people
for works of service, so the body of Christ is built up.
D. 1 Cor 12:5 - different kinds of service, same Lord.
1) 12:28 - those able to help others
2) 12:28 - gifts of administration
