SPEAKER_01: Thanks for checking out this podcast from Carterville Christian Church.
SPEAKER_01: We're so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_01: Our hope is that through these messages you'll grow deeper in your faith and experience the life-changing hope of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Now let's jump into this week's teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Well, good morning, C3.
SPEAKER_00: Good to be with you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: It's a great day to be with you for a lot of reasons.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, first I wanted to say it's a great day for us to be together the day after we celebrate 250 years as a country.
SPEAKER_00: Pretty incredible.
SPEAKER_00: We got to celebrate that.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you stayed safe and got good enough sleep, even though your neighborhood, if your neighborhood's like mine, then there were fireworks going off until 2 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: last night.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you.
SPEAKER_00: But man, what a what an honor, what a privilege it is for us to live in a country where we have the freedom to gather together and worship our God freely.
SPEAKER_00: It's something we don't take lightly because we have brothers and sisters all around the world who are trying to worship our same God, but are not given that same freedom.
SPEAKER_00: So man, it's it's worth giving praise and honor to our God who allows us to live in this country.
SPEAKER_00: It's also worthwhile for us to continue lifting our leaders in prayer, that they would bend their knee to Jesus, that they would submit to him and continue to know that He is that He is the answer to anything that we might be facing, that He is He is the one they need to turn to for hope and for purpose.
SPEAKER_00: So, man, honor.
SPEAKER_00: It's great for us to be able to celebrate what we got to celebrate, but it's also, man, awesome opportunity for us to celebrate what the Lord did this week through our students, uh hundred students that went to see how I moved this uh this last week.
SPEAKER_00: Um pretty incredible.
SPEAKER_00: You've already heard from several of them.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you're gonna hear more um later in this service, and then uh even in the weeks to come, you're gonna hear stories, and we're gonna continue to see uh the ripple effects of um just kingdom investments um and and what the Lord does.
SPEAKER_00: He does immeasurably more than what we could ask or imagine.
SPEAKER_00: I want to show you a couple pictures, actually, I think three pictures.
SPEAKER_00: They might all be up here together.
SPEAKER_00: Um and if if you know, like every time, uh every night we gather as a youth group, as a big group after um after the main sessions, we gather around a different grade.
SPEAKER_00: This has been a tradition that the youth group has done for years, and uh that they gather around the freshman the incoming freshmen one night, gather around the incoming sophomores one night, gather around the graduated seniors the last night, all that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And we just gather around them and lay hands on them and then pray over them.
SPEAKER_00: And there's students that pray over them and sponsors that have walked with them for years that get to pray over them as well.
SPEAKER_00: Um, it's a pretty incredible uh moment.
SPEAKER_00: This is just me snapping a few of them from the outside looking in.
SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of ways we could describe this moment, but I think the one that kept coming to my mind over and over again was just holy ground.
SPEAKER_00: Like that's what it felt like as we as we stepped into that space this week.
SPEAKER_00: As we stepped into different spaces and had different conversations and heard encouraging words and and were reminded of truth that we need, man.
SPEAKER_00: It was just holy ground.
SPEAKER_00: And in in scripture, when holy ground is mentioned, it's a place where the Lord Himself meets his people when he comes face to face to encounter them.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what's happened with our students this week.
SPEAKER_00: They've come face to face with the living God.
SPEAKER_00: And man, what an awesome thing, a worthwhile investment for us as a church.
SPEAKER_00: So I want to say, I'll show you those pictures, and I tell you this just to say, hey, thank you for making this happen.
SPEAKER_00: Your regular uh gifts and offerings, your above and beyond sponsorships and partnerships with students, your prayer that has enabled uh a week like this to happen, an impact like this to happen.
SPEAKER_00: Man, it we we will continue to see the ripple effects of this for years to come.
SPEAKER_00: And we won't know the full effect until we're united with our Lord in heaven to know about what our what our investments do.
SPEAKER_00: Um and that really kind of leads us into what we're talking about today.
SPEAKER_00: We're continuing the series, vital signs.
SPEAKER_00: And we've been talking about like kind of the vision for our church and where we where we're going, and really all kinds of comes comes back to who we are.
SPEAKER_00: We are a gathering of people who realize that we need Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's at the at the core of who we are.
SPEAKER_00: We realize that, hey, we we need Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We need him to step in and save us.
SPEAKER_00: Like we cannot save ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: We need him to come do something, and we realize that we need him to strengthen us for our for our daily lives.
SPEAKER_00: And it's out of this understanding that that kind of drives what we do as a church.
SPEAKER_00: Our our being always drives our doing.
SPEAKER_00: So if we realize that we are God's people, that we are his children, and that we cannot do anything without him, then it drives us to do things as a church.
SPEAKER_00: And we've been talking about this the last couple weeks is that we make disciples of Jesus who are growing by studying and applying the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: Like this is a gift that we have from him.
SPEAKER_00: And we we we gather together, we're gathering together for worship and encouragement and accountability.
SPEAKER_00: And today, what we're talking about is that we make disciples of Jesus who are giving of their time, of their giftedness, of their resources towards kingdom efforts.
SPEAKER_00: And this is this is like we've we've talked about all of these different uh these different things with we need statements and I need statements, and that's the same thing here.
SPEAKER_00: We need to give.
SPEAKER_00: Or if we personalize it, I need to give.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and this is an interesting one that we get to talk about today, but if we want to experience life to the full in Jesus, then we need to be giving of our time, of our resources, of our treasures, of our giftedness towards kingdom efforts.
SPEAKER_00: Got a question for you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: What's the best gift you've ever received?
SPEAKER_00: That's a question we asked in small group time this week.
SPEAKER_00: We were asked in small in one of our small group times this week with students.
SPEAKER_00: I was with the junior and senior boys.
SPEAKER_00: So you can imagine, like some of our discussions went so many different directions, you know, this this week.
SPEAKER_00: But it was really, really good, really fruitful time that I got to spend with those with those boys.
SPEAKER_00: But I we asked them this question and started discussing it, and there were all kinds of different different answers, you know, from your typical church answers and Jesus and the Bible and to the gift of life itself.
SPEAKER_00: They all said, Thanks, Mom, you know, for the gift of life, you know, and then Aiden said the best gift he had ever received was 20 bucks, you know.
SPEAKER_00: If you know Aiden, then that makes sense, you know.
SPEAKER_00: But and then some of our guys got more sentimental talking about meaningful gifts they've received by their grandparents or or parents.
SPEAKER_00: And then I shared with them what came to my mind immediately was this was Buzz Lightyear.
SPEAKER_00: Might be the best gift I've ever received, you know.
SPEAKER_00: Um he's he's seen some years.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, about 30 years is how many years he's seen since I got this guy.
SPEAKER_00: Uh my grandparents gave me this for Christmas.
SPEAKER_00: Um Toy Story came out in 1995.
SPEAKER_00: The original Toy Story came out in 1995.
SPEAKER_00: I think it was that Christmas, right?
SPEAKER_00: So I think it was 31 years ago that they gave me this Buzz Lightyear, and he was awesome, you know, had all the all the buttons.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's missing a hand now, and his he's his hips are way more flexible, you know.
SPEAKER_00: Um so and the the wings don't pop out like they used to, you know, but but he's he's seen some seen some, you know, he's been well loved over the last 30 years, you know.
SPEAKER_00: My kids even now still play with him on occasion, but um, you know, there's nothing special about this toy, right?
SPEAKER_00: Actually, that's like the whole premise of the of the first movie.
SPEAKER_00: It's like you're you're not special, like you might feel like you're on a secret mission to defeat Emperor Zerg, but what is what is what he say to him?
SPEAKER_00: You are a toy, you know?
SPEAKER_00: Like you're not the real Buzz Lightyear, you're you're an action figure.
SPEAKER_00: You're some child's play thingy, right?
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember how Buzz responds to him?
SPEAKER_00: You are a what is he, what does it you are a sad, strange little man, is what he says to him, right?
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing, there's nothing special about this toy, except maybe the fact that, you know, five or six-year-old Austin like really wanted this this Buzz Light year.
SPEAKER_00: And but this took on a whole new meaning for me about four or five years ago.
SPEAKER_00: Both my grandparents passed away, you know, as a result of the COVID years, like right on the the back end of COVID, and passed a passed away about a year apart from each other.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the stories that came out in their in their you know, celebration of life and all that kind of stuff was was we came to find out that you know some of the best gifts we ever got for Christmas were from my grandparents.
SPEAKER_00: And it was because my grandparents were intentional by asking my parents, hey, what's a gift that that your kids want that you can't you can't quite get for them this year?
SPEAKER_00: That you can't make happen.
SPEAKER_00: This was the first one of those they got for me.
SPEAKER_00: That they gave like sacrificially so that I could have I'm crying about a buzz light year right now.
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00: Like this is this is crazy.
SPEAKER_00: And my grandparents did that year after year, asking my parents, hey, what's the what's the gift that you wish you could get your kids, but you just can't quite get them this year?
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about you, man.
SPEAKER_00: There's something special, something special about the gift when when you realize the sacrifice it took to give it for me to receive something special.
SPEAKER_00: And I think you know where I'm going here, right?
SPEAKER_00: Like this is this is where this is um, I need to make sure we're all on the same page when we talk about giving, we talk about our need to be giving, we need to understand something very this is foundational.
SPEAKER_00: Our giving is always preceded by something else.
SPEAKER_00: We are never the first ones to give.
SPEAKER_00: We are first and foremost the ones who have received.
SPEAKER_00: Like God is always beats us to the punch when it comes to giving.
SPEAKER_00: Like he always beats us, he's always the first one who gives.
SPEAKER_00: And anytime that we give, it's always in response to what we have been given.
SPEAKER_00: This is the main thing I want you to hear today is yeah, we need to give because we have received.
SPEAKER_00: We need to give because we have received.
SPEAKER_00: And God is the source of all that we have received.
SPEAKER_00: So we give of our time and our energy, of our giftedness, our resources, our money, because it's the proper response.
SPEAKER_00: Because we have received everything from Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And so here's what I want to do.
SPEAKER_00: I want to just ask this question to kind of lead us the rest of the morning is what have we received in Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Like, what have you and I received?
SPEAKER_00: And the and as we answer this question of what we've received, my hope is that we'll come to this realization that we need to then give, that we need to turn and to give.
SPEAKER_00: So there's several things we could say, but I'm just gonna say say a few.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we have received, first, we've received eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: We've received eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And you're not gonna be surprised by these passages, but you and I desperately need them.
SPEAKER_00: John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: There it is.
SPEAKER_00: Romans chapter 6, verse 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We were in the book of Ephesians this week as a group, and Paul says it pretty clearly in chapter 2 for us, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith.
SPEAKER_00: And this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God.
SPEAKER_00: You and I have been given salvation if we belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: We've been given eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And we talked about this a lot this last week with students, and it's just it was just good for my heart to be reminded of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: And no matter how long you've been following Jesus, you need this reminder of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: That God has loved you because he loves you.
SPEAKER_00: One of our students already said already shared.
SPEAKER_00: Like God loves you because, not because you are good, but because he is good.
SPEAKER_00: This is this is what it really comes down to.
SPEAKER_00: You are loved by him and you are rescued by him, saved from the death that your that your sin has caused in you.
SPEAKER_00: You're saved freely, not because of anything you have done, but as the free gift.
SPEAKER_00: One of our small group leaders that I led with said it this way hey, this is straight down the fairway stuff, you know?
SPEAKER_00: This is gospel truth that we're talking about here, and it's so good for us to be reminded of this.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot earn what God has freely given here.
SPEAKER_00: Like God has freely given you eternal life if you just accept through faith the gift that He has given you in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes at the same time, we think we can earn our way to God.
SPEAKER_00: You know, we've talked about this before that sometimes we think our sin just makes us dirty.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that's that's how we view it.
SPEAKER_00: And if our sin makes us dirty, then there's a couple implications.
SPEAKER_00: It means like somebody else can always be more dirty than I am.
SPEAKER_00: Like in comparison, somebody else is always just a little bit more dirty.
SPEAKER_00: And then also, like, if if sin makes us dirty, then then there's another implication that's kind of like, well, then I can I can clean myself up.
SPEAKER_00: I can I can write the ship here, I can I can figure something out.
SPEAKER_00: But the truth about your sin and about my sin is it doesn't just make us dirty, it makes us dead.
SPEAKER_00: Like we are dead in our sin.
SPEAKER_00: That's what Paul says earlier in chapter two is that you and I were dead in our sin, in our trespasses.
SPEAKER_00: And the truth is, is no one is more dead than a dead person.
SPEAKER_00: Like there's not different different stages of death.
SPEAKER_00: You're either dead or you're not dead.
SPEAKER_00: Like, that's that's really what it comes down to.
SPEAKER_00: And we are all in need of saving.
SPEAKER_00: And the the other part of this is someone who's dead, is is is is what one of our speakers said this week is that a dead person cannot resuscitate themselves.
SPEAKER_00: Like they can't just all automatically breathe life back into their own body.
SPEAKER_00: They need someone else to bring them back to life, and that's exactly what has happened with you and me.
SPEAKER_00: This is the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: You and I have received eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And it's this grace that has been freely given to you.
SPEAKER_00: And our response, our response to this new life that we have received in Jesus should be to offer that life back.
SPEAKER_00: Should be to give that life back to him in worship in every single part of our lives.
SPEAKER_00: It should be this should this should be our response is to give that new life back to God in worship because all of it is from him.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I want to say, more than anything else, about this right here is you have received eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And yes, like we have received eternal life, but it's you individually.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord has done a good work in you if you belong to him, if you are in Christ, he's done a good work in you, and he's done something so personal in you that nobody else can tell the story that you have to tell.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody else can tell the difference that he has made in your life specifically.
SPEAKER_00: You have a unique story to tell of this new life that you have been given, this eternal life that you have been given by grace through faith in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So, whatever we receive, we've received eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: But we've also received spiritual gifts.
SPEAKER_00: We've received spiritual gifts.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing like God has given you a unique gift to serve his church.
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of different passages we could go to that mention the spiritual gifts that have been given to the church, whether that's Romans 12 or 1 Peter 4 or Ephesians 4, maybe the most prominent one is 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
SPEAKER_00: And it's clear in each of those passages, just a quick like overview of each of those passages, it's very clear that God is the one who provides the spiritual gifts, that he is the source of all of those gifts.
SPEAKER_00: It's him, it's God who gives.
SPEAKER_00: Again, this is what we're talking about.
SPEAKER_00: We like there's always something that precedes our giving.
SPEAKER_00: God has given you a spiritual gift.
SPEAKER_00: Before you had any chance to earn his favor, to get on his good side.
SPEAKER_00: He's given you a spiritual gift.
SPEAKER_00: And this by itself, that truth of that God is the one who provides, who has supplied you with a spiritual gift, it reorients ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: Because we can be tempted sometimes when it comes to our giftedness to treat it with selfishness and with pride, to puff ourselves up a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: But when we realize that it's that it's God who provides all of our giftedness, then we're actually led to worship instead.
SPEAKER_00: And so we say, instead of, instead of look at what I have done or look what I can do, it's look at what God has done.
SPEAKER_00: Instead of like, look at what I yeah, look at what I can do, look at what God is doing, instead of look at how awesome I am, it it shifts to like look at how good God is.
SPEAKER_00: And the truth is the Lord is the author of your gift, he is the source of your talent and your ability.
SPEAKER_00: Paul in 1 Corinthians then points out a few things that we cannot say as members of the same body of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Like we cannot say these things.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, listen for them.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
SPEAKER_00: And if the ear should say, I am because I'm not the eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
SPEAKER_00: If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?
SPEAKER_00: If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
SPEAKER_00: But in fact, listen to this.
SPEAKER_00: God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.
SPEAKER_00: If they were all one part, where would the body be?
SPEAKER_00: As it is.
SPEAKER_00: There are many parts, but one body.
SPEAKER_00: The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you.
SPEAKER_00: And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you.
SPEAKER_00: On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are actually indispensable.
SPEAKER_00: And the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.
SPEAKER_00: And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
SPEAKER_00: Do you see?
SPEAKER_00: There's two different statements here that Paul says that the body can't make, and they both share the same issue.
SPEAKER_00: When it comes to our spiritual giftedness, they both share the same issue of humility.
SPEAKER_00: One just maybe a little bit more obvious to identify than the other.
SPEAKER_00: He says it right off right in the midst of here.
SPEAKER_00: He says, the eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you.
SPEAKER_00: And you can hear it, like the issue of pride here.
SPEAKER_00: You can hear it pretty clearly in that text.
SPEAKER_00: The I cannot say to the hand, I don't need you, as in, I'm better than you.
SPEAKER_00: Like what he's getting at is there's no part of the body that is dispensable or useless.
SPEAKER_00: Every part of the body is treated with honor and respect.
SPEAKER_00: And every every part of the body is necessary for the whole.
SPEAKER_00: And this is like the issue of humility is easy to point out here.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's it's easy to identify.
SPEAKER_00: The next one, maybe not so much.
SPEAKER_00: Because the next one, the other thing he says in this passage is the foot cannot say, because I'm not a hand, I don't belong here.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we do this with our spiritual gifts.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we, you know, see somebody leading worship up here and be like, I can never do that.
SPEAKER_00: I sound like a coyote in a trash compactor, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00: Like I can't, I don't sing well.
SPEAKER_00: Like I can't, I can't do that.
SPEAKER_00: Or I see somebody, I see somebody leading in a certain way, or I see somebody preaching, I see somebody teaching, or I see somebody doing something.
SPEAKER_00: Like, for me, it's I see somebody fixing something with their hands, you know?
SPEAKER_00: Like, I I can't do that, I can't serve in that way.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what Paul's getting at.
SPEAKER_00: You can't say this.
SPEAKER_00: And the what what really what it really comes down to is we're saying, I don't really have anything to offer.
SPEAKER_00: I don't really have anything to bring to the table.
SPEAKER_00: I don't have any special abilities or talents or resources to contribute.
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I don't really belong here.
SPEAKER_00: And what Paul is getting at is that feeling of insecurity, which is actually the same root issue of humility when we have this with this feeling of insecurity.
SPEAKER_00: And the point is this we need to understand that all of us have received spiritual gifts outside of ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's not yours that you've conjured up, it is the gift of God.
SPEAKER_00: You did not earn them, and so there is not one who is who is more needed than the other.
SPEAKER_00: And when we come to this realization, we can have humility that impacts us in a couple different ways.
SPEAKER_00: It realizes that, hey, we cannot do this on our own.
SPEAKER_00: But also, we can have confidence in who God has made us to be, and that we have something to bring to the table.
SPEAKER_00: Like you have a part to play.
SPEAKER_00: It's a humility that helps us understand we need each other, but also you have something to offer, and a proper response to realizing that we've been, that we've received spiritual gifts is to start using them to serve others in the church.
SPEAKER_00: I love how one preacher said it.
SPEAKER_00: He said, You, you, a Christian, are God's gift to the church.
SPEAKER_00: Like you are.
SPEAKER_00: Meaning the church needs your gift.
SPEAKER_00: The body is not complete without it.
SPEAKER_00: You have something to bring to the table.
SPEAKER_00: So here's the truth what we receive.
SPEAKER_00: We've received eternal life, and we have received spiritual gifts, and we've also received physical blessings.
SPEAKER_00: We've received physical blessings.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to make sure that we're all on the same page here because what's what's absolutely true in scripture when it comes to talking about our stuff is that God is the owner of all of it.
SPEAKER_00: That's what's very clear in scripture.
SPEAKER_00: That God is the owner of all of it.
SPEAKER_00: Look at Psalm 24.
SPEAKER_00: The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.
SPEAKER_00: That word everything means everything, you understand.
SPEAKER_00: Again, it's not everything except for your mortgage, your address, your truck, your family.
SPEAKER_00: The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.
SPEAKER_00: The world and all who live in it.
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 50, for every animal of the forest is mine, says the Lord, the cattle on a thousand hills.
SPEAKER_00: I know every bird in the mountains and the insects of the fields are mine.
SPEAKER_00: If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it.
SPEAKER_00: Romans chapter 11.
SPEAKER_00: Who has ever given to God that God should repay them?
SPEAKER_00: For from him and through him and for him are all things.
SPEAKER_00: To him be glory forever.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: James 1.
SPEAKER_00: Every good gift, every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what we believe God is the owner of all of it.
SPEAKER_00: And if God is the owner of all of it, then simply put, you and I are not.
SPEAKER_00: That's really what it comes down to.
SPEAKER_00: Like if God owns everything, that means you and I do not.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not like we're co-owners, actually.
SPEAKER_00: It's not even like we kind of own something, we kind of halfway own something.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, what the biblical word would be an issue of stewardship.
SPEAKER_00: Like someone has entrusted you with the master's things.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord establishes for us this rhythm of generous living and to remind us who is the owner of all things.
SPEAKER_00: Like He establishes this rhythm of giving.
SPEAKER_00: Of regular and sacrificial and cheerful offerings back to the Lord because so that we might be reminded that ultimately he is the owner of everything.
SPEAKER_00: But also to protect us from what might be the enemy's chief scheme for you to trust in something other than himself, other than in the Lord Himself, like to protect us against greed and idolatry in this way, of trusting in our things more than trusting in God.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul addresses how we go about this since we have received everything that we have from God.
SPEAKER_00: He says this in 2 Corinthians chapter 9.
SPEAKER_00: The point is this whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
SPEAKER_00: Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
SPEAKER_00: You see that there?
SPEAKER_00: Like we give, we are to give cheerfully.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to focus there what he says there on in verse 7.
SPEAKER_00: Do you see that?
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna leave it up there for a second.
SPEAKER_00: Paul tells us to give as he has decided in his heart, for God loves a cheerful giver.
SPEAKER_00: He has two little clauses in between there, not reluctantly, because that reveals a lack of trust in the one who can provide for us, in the one who already has provided everything.
SPEAKER_00: Don't give reluctantly.
SPEAKER_00: Don't like second guess it as you're giving this offering.
SPEAKER_00: Because you you're trusting in the one who can provide for you, who has proven faithful over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_00: But then he also says, and not under compulsion.
SPEAKER_00: Like this like almost like a guilty feeling.
SPEAKER_00: Like I probably should give.
SPEAKER_00: It seems like everybody else is, so I probably should.
SPEAKER_00: He said, No, like if your heart isn't isn't there yet, like you should probably wait until you can give in such a way that's just complete and utter worship.
SPEAKER_00: That you're trusting in God completely and fully, and that you're submitting to his rule and power in your life.
SPEAKER_00: Both of these are connected.
SPEAKER_00: They're connected, like both of those little phrases in between, they're not reluctantly, not under compulsion.
SPEAKER_00: They're connected by self-interest.
SPEAKER_00: They give to get a return, or they give shorthanded because they can't bring themselves to give at any real cost to themselves.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul's saying both of them are missing the point.
SPEAKER_00: Like we give cheerfully, not out of self-interest or out of compulsion or reluctantly.
SPEAKER_00: We give generously out of the blessing that we have freely received in Christ.
SPEAKER_00: All of it's from Him.
SPEAKER_00: So we give freely and cheerfully back to Him because it's all His anyway.
SPEAKER_00: It was all His to begin with.
SPEAKER_00: I love how one preacher said this.
SPEAKER_00: He talked about his kids wanting to get a gift for their mom.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, So I loaded them up in the car and we drove to the store and they were picking something out, and I knew she was gonna hate it.
SPEAKER_00: So I was like, well, let's, you know, let's like I steered them in the right direction, and God, you know, helped them pick out a gift that she would actually like and actually appreciate, not one that would, you know, sit on the counter and then end up in the trash two weeks later, you know.
SPEAKER_00: And then we I loaded them all up, we bought it, loaded them all up, brought them back home, and then he said, I I then wrapped that present and then I, you know, put it all together.
SPEAKER_00: We put a little, I I wrote a little note from the kids and put it on top, and I wrote from the kids to mom.
SPEAKER_00: And then they took the gift and they said, Look, mom, I got this for you.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Wait, hold a second, hold on a second.
SPEAKER_00: Like, you did what?
SPEAKER_00: You got that gift for your mom?
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm the one that drove you to the store.
SPEAKER_00: I'm the one who paid with it with my own money.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm the one who actually helped you not pick a terrible gift for her in the first place.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm I'm the one who then wrapped it and put your name on it.
SPEAKER_00: Like I you had nothing to to contribute to this other than the giving of the gift specifically.
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a pretty good picture of what Paul's Paul's painting here is that ultimately, like, like we are the recipient of all that God has given us.
SPEAKER_00: So when we give, we realize that this gift is a uh a gift of blessing out of the blessing that you have already received.
SPEAKER_00: Like it's ultimately something that you've already received freely from God.
SPEAKER_00: You did, you did like nothing, like if he's allowed you to have a job, he's allowed you to have that job so that you may may give back to him and provide for those around you.
SPEAKER_00: Like if he's somehow like made you successful in some way, like he's he's allowed you to be successful so that you might you might be able to then give even more generously.
SPEAKER_00: God raises your standard of of living, so so you can raise your standard of giving, is what one author says.
SPEAKER_00: Like this is what it really comes down to.
SPEAKER_00: You have you have received from God.
SPEAKER_00: And when you realize that God is the owner of everything and that he has entrusted you as a steward with of his stuff in a very short time, then it's gonna be really hard not to give out of it with a cheerful heart.
SPEAKER_00: When you have this realization, when there this takes root deep down, you have received physical blessings, and the Lord has provided for you.
SPEAKER_00: And the proper response is to live our lives with open hands and to invest in a kingdom and things that will not fade rather than storing up treasures on this earth where raw where moth and rust destroy.
SPEAKER_00: So we invest cheerfully and generously and sacrificially and regularly, and we have the opportunity to worship the Lord with our stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the truth like we need to give because we have received.
SPEAKER_00: We need to give because we have received.
SPEAKER_00: We've received it, this eternal life and spiritual gifts and physical blessings.
SPEAKER_00: And let me just say this as clearly as I can.
SPEAKER_00: You are the only one who can give what you have received.
SPEAKER_00: Like you are the only one who can really give back to the Lord in an act of worship what he has done for you specifically.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's this is a communal truth of what the Lord has done, but it's also very personal.
SPEAKER_00: And he's inviting you into this rhythm, into this act of giving, because you have received new life in Christ, and no one else can tell the story of what Christ has done in you.
SPEAKER_00: You're the only one who can give that to somebody else.
SPEAKER_00: You're the only one who can share that specific good news.
SPEAKER_00: And you have received a unique gift to serve the church.
SPEAKER_00: And listen, if you don't use that unique gift to serve the church, then the church is missing out.
SPEAKER_00: You're the only one who can give that gift back to the church to serve the church and to lift up the church, and you have received physical blessings, not as an owner, but as a steward, to invest wisely into things that will never fade away.
SPEAKER_00: And when you don't give, listen, you're you're the one missing out.
SPEAKER_00: Like I want you to hear me.
SPEAKER_00: You're the one missing out on the full life that Jesus has for you.
SPEAKER_00: Like you're missing out on the joy that comes from telling others of the night and day difference that the Lord has made in your life and seeing them respond to Jesus in faith.
SPEAKER_00: You're missing out on that.
SPEAKER_00: And you're missing out on the impact you'll get to witness on those who are blessed by your giftedness whenever you just step forward and serve in some way that maybe that maybe you feel uncomfortable to step in and serve in.
SPEAKER_00: And you miss out on the peace that comes from God when you trust, when you actively trust in Him more than in the stuff that you give away.
SPEAKER_00: Like you're missing out on this peace.
SPEAKER_00: No one can give what you have received.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, like, are you giving it?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're maybe you're just like, I just don't know where to start.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know where to start with this giving.
SPEAKER_00: Man, I would say something about each of those things that you have received.
SPEAKER_00: I would say, if you have received eternal life, if you've been saved by grace through faith in Jesus, then you should write down this week what difference has Jesus made in my life?
SPEAKER_00: Make it personal.
SPEAKER_00: Like write a personal gospel story of what the Lord has done here.
SPEAKER_00: Because there's something way more, way more powerful than just um than just like reciting a certain amount of things that you have that you have learned, a certain way, like a rehearsed way to say the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Whenever it's way more personal to you and say, This is what the Lord has delivered me from, man, I want you to know the joy that I have.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know the hope that I have.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know about this man who has changed my life from the inside out.
SPEAKER_00: Man, there's something completely powerful about that.
SPEAKER_00: So maybe you just start writing out what the Lord has done for you.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's a place you can start this week.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you think about your your spiritual gifts and you're thinking about I don't know, I don't know where the church could use this gift.
SPEAKER_00: Man, actually, if you go to our to our database, you can go and you can take a spiritual gifts assessment.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're trying to figure out, I don't even know what what this what this looks like.
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know what kind of people they need.
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know what kind of personality types they could need.
SPEAKER_00: I actually asked our staff this week, hey, what's a what's a position you were trying to fill this year, over this past year, that you were stressed out about?
SPEAKER_00: That you were trying to try you, there was a need and you were trying to, you know, specifically go ask people what what were they?
SPEAKER_00: I had there were all kinds of responses.
SPEAKER_00: Over the past year, there we were looking for people who were skilled with their hands, who'd be willing to help with random projects around the building.
SPEAKER_00: We needed people to help with special needs students in our children's ministry, people who are just willing to learn something new and try and fail and then try again and then fail again and then try again.
SPEAKER_00: We needed people who like to cook and provide meals, whether that's at water gardens or for our college-age students.
SPEAKER_00: We needed people who were naturally welcoming to serve on our first impressions team to make people feel welcome in this place.
SPEAKER_00: We needed people who to continue to step up and to disciple the next generation who were both like calm and had patience, but also were stern and faithful examples of what it looked like to follow after the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: This like scratches the surface on the needs that are that are in this place.
SPEAKER_00: Man, maybe it's just I'm just gonna step forward and start and start serving.
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know what, I don't even know really what my giftedness is.
SPEAKER_00: And I think the Lord will reveal that to you as you step forward to faithfully serve him, no matter where it is.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe, maybe today, is as as you think about the physical blessings that you've received, maybe where you start today is just start somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord, in in scripture, there's a like there's a tithing commitment that is that is given.
SPEAKER_00: It's me, it means like 10% of your income.
SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting, like I'm just gonna be straight with you.
SPEAKER_00: That's not found in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: That's something that's found in the Old Testament, something that diff like called the people of God apart from those around them.
SPEAKER_00: It helped them to trust in the Lord beyond beyond where they were.
SPEAKER_00: And I think the reason why it's not repeated in the New Testament is not because it's not a good practice.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus talks more about money than He than He does about heaven and hell combined.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I think what He's really getting at is, hey, 10% is a great starting place for you.
SPEAKER_00: It's not the finish line.
SPEAKER_00: Like you need to trust me here.
SPEAKER_00: Like give in in a way that's gonna flex that mess that muscle of trust in me.
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna make you, force you to trust in me more than more than your stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And so maybe it's just start somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I don't know what it looks like for you.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's to start giving in such a way that's just where you're you're at completely at the Lord's at the Lord's mercy.
SPEAKER_00: You have to trust in him.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever it is, man, start start somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: Because you're the only one who can give what you have received.
SPEAKER_00: Like nobody else can give the gift that you're gonna bring.
SPEAKER_00: Nobody else can give it.
SPEAKER_00: It's uniquely yours to give.
SPEAKER_00: It's a unique worship.
SPEAKER_00: You've been given something unique.
SPEAKER_00: You're the only one who can give it.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I had one of our about a month ago, one of our graduated seniors came up to me after a Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_00: And she came up to me and just said, All right, so I'm, and I, you know, have have somewhat of a relationship with her, not super, but she's, you know, just kind of all in on what we're doing here, you know.
SPEAKER_00: And and she just came up and said, Okay, so I'm serving, you know, in children's ministry and I'm I'm attending church and I'm giving.
SPEAKER_00: What else can I do?
SPEAKER_00: What else can I give?
SPEAKER_00: Like, how else can I serve?
SPEAKER_00: And I'm man, I'm just gonna be honest.
SPEAKER_00: If everybody in this church had that attitude, I cannot imagine the impact that we would have on this community, the impact that we would have on the world.
SPEAKER_00: Because we're all in realizing, hey, God has uniquely gifted me.
SPEAKER_00: He's uniquely given me life that I need to speak about, he's uniquely gifted me with a gift that I need to use, he's uniquely given me things that I need to give back to him in worship.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what else can I give?
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine the impact that would have?
SPEAKER_00: I think we have a picture of it in scripture.
SPEAKER_00: It's in Acts chapter 2.
SPEAKER_00: This is what it would look like.
SPEAKER_00: The people devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer, and everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
SPEAKER_00: All the believers were together and had everything in common.
SPEAKER_00: They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
SPEAKER_00: And every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts, they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you.
SPEAKER_00: That sounds like a church I want to be a part of.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we're so thankful for all that we have received freely in you.
SPEAKER_00: We're so thankful for the life that we have in you, so thankful for the ways that you have uniquely gifted every single one of us in this room.
SPEAKER_00: We're so thankful for the blessings that you have given us, the the ways that you have continued to show up and provide for us.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, would you continue to remind us as we as we enter into this kind of rhythm of giving, would you continue to remind us that first and foremost we have received from you?
SPEAKER_00: Spirit, would you humble us under that truth that we have received from you?
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, would you not allow us to be puffed up with pride?
SPEAKER_00: But Lord, would you help us to see just what an honor it is that we get to partner with you in the work that you're doing in this place?
SPEAKER_00: Wanna pray right now as you're moving and convicting and and challenging people in this room, Lord, I pray that they would they would surrender to your spirit, to however you're moving right now.
SPEAKER_00: And as a result, Lord, you would be glorified in this place.
SPEAKER_00: We cannot wait to see what you do.
SPEAKER_00: So we give you all the glory and all the honor, all the praise.
SPEAKER_00: You alone deserve it.
SPEAKER_00: It's in your powerful name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Thanks again for listening to the Carterville Christian Church podcast.
SPEAKER_01: Our prayer is that today's message has encouraged you and drawn you closer to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: To learn more or get connected with our church family, visit Carterville Christian.com.
SPEAKER_01: We'd love to walk alongside you in your journey of faith.