Sermon – Love Language For The Church – Gift Giving

  • For the past two weeks we have been looking at the different love languages; how God shows His love; and how we can express our love for Him and for our fellow man.  The first two weeks, we looked service and words – today we will look at gift giving – and the next two weeks, we will look at physical touch and quality time.

Opening Questions:

  • Who likes to give? … Who likes to receive? … When do we give? … What do we give?

  • Acts 20:35 (NLT) … And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard.  You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

When does God give gifts?

  • When we seek the Kingdom …
    • Matthew 6:33 (NLT) … Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
  • When we ask with the right motives …
    • James 4:3 (NLT) … And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure.

  • When we ask for them …
    • Matthew 7:7 (NLT) … Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.

  • When we believe we will receive them …
    • Matthew 21:22 (NLT) … You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.

  • When we ask according to God’s will …
    • 1st John 5:14 (NLT) … And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him … (Greek “thelema” = will / decision / desire / pleasure)

  • When we were at odds with God …
    • Romans 5:8 (NLT) … But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

  • When we confess our sins …
    • 1st John 1:9 (NLT) … If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What gifts does God give?

  • The gift of Jesus … John 3:16 (NLT) … For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
  • The gift of Salvation / Eternal Life
    • Romans 6:23 (NLT) … For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
    • Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) … God saved you by his grace when you believed.  And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
  • The gift of the Holy Spirit … John 14:15-17a (NLT) … If you love me, obey my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate / Comforter / Encourager / Counselor who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.

  • The gift of Righteousness … Romans 5:17-18 (NLT) … For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many.  But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.  Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one at of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.

  • The gift of power … 2nd Timothy 1:7 (NLT) … For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

  • The gift of His Riches / Treasures … Philippians 4:19 (NLT) … And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
  • The gift of Equipping for Services … 1st Corinthians 12:7 (NLT) … A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

  • Who needs them … Everyone needs them; but sadly, some people choose to remain in opposition to God – they choose a sinful, rebellious life dedicated to themselves, instead of choosing God and living for Him and by His guidelines.

  • How should we receive them? … We should receive God’s gifts with humility, knowing that we can never do anything to earn them, and knowing that we truly don’t deserve them … however, if we are willing to accept them, use them to better others and build God’s Kingdom; then we repent of our sins, we leave them behind and don’t back to them … we commit ourselves to Jesus … we get baptized … we join a church; and faithfully serve it and other believers.
  • How should we use them? … We should use the gifts God has given us to get closer to Him … to build up the faith of other believers … to make new disciples / new believers … to challenge people to grow in faith … to meet the spiritual and physical needs of believers, if not others.
  • What do you give to your church; and what does it cost you?
  • The NT exhorts us to give, and especially to the church … Galatians 6:10 (NLT) … Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone – especially to those in the family of faith.
  • For those with ample means, giving time and effort may prove more costly than writing a check with several zeroes.  For those with little wealth, even a small gift may be a huge sacrifice, and such saints may be rich in other ways.  Giving to the church is about more than money.
  • A good evaluation of our giving is to consider three resources: time, talent, and treasure.  A healthy Christian life involves giving not one or two of these; but all three.

TIME

  • The NT tells us to care for fellow church members in ways that require us to spend time generously.  We can’t celebrate or mourn with people, if we’re always in a hurry.

  • Romans 12:15 (NLT) … Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

  • Restoring those who have slid into sin is the work of the whole church body; and helping those caught in sin requires generous, repeated gifts of time.

  • Galatians 6:1-2 (NLT) … Brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.  And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

  • Our calling to be church members is one among many callings God has given to us.  Some of us have other callings as well … providing for our families, caring for children, studying, just to name a few.  We should be faithful in all or our callings; yet we should never use faithfulness in one calling as an excuse to forsake another.

  • Are we too busy with work to weep with those who mourn?  Do our kids activities take up too much time that we can’t serve or help other believers?  Are we so consumed with extracurriculars that we have no idea what our church’s needs are or how we can help?

  • Puritan Thomas Watson said, “Time is a talent to trade with.”  How are we investing our time to profit our church and others?  How we spend our time reveals and trains our hearts.  Where our time goes, there our hearts will also be.

TALENTS

  • One of the blessings of the Church is the diversity of gifts the Holy Spirit has given to build it up (1st Corinthians 12:4, 7).  Some gifts are quite mundane: service, mercy, helping, and administrating (Romans 12:7-8; 1st Corinthians 12:28).  Not every Christian has every gift, but all Christians have at least one, and the Spirit has given us these to build up the Church.

  • We also have talents, skills, and abilities that may be differ from spiritual gifts.  If you have talents, then you may be able to serve in ways others can’t.  Are you a carpenter, plumber, electrician, seamstress, tech support, musician, farmer, rancher, to name a few? … If so, you can do things that many can’t; and should use them to meet the needs of the church or your fellow believers.

  • Our hobbies and interests can also reach others; and people with the same background can open doors that others can’t.  Use your experiences to reach people.

  • God has arranged the Church so that every member needs the rest.  In order to flourish, the Church needs every gift it is given to grow.  We should treat our talents as clues to spiritual gifts; and always remember that whatever abilities we have we should us for God’s glory.

TREASURES

  • Whatever treasures or resources God has provided, He wants us to invest them in eternity.  One of the ways we invest our wealth is by investing in the body of Christ.  Throughout the NT, we see that Christians are characterized by giving generously to provide for another’s material needs (Acts 2:44; 4:34-35; 1st Corinthians 16:1-3).

  • One of the main outlets for our giving is supporting our church; but that should be where our giving starts, not where it stops.

  • Giving of our treasures involves far more than writing a check.  Whatever possessions we “own” are given to us by God – and we are stewards for others’ good and His glory.

  • How can we use what we have been given to help and serve others?  What can we give away or do without?  What can we allow someone to borrow, even for an extended period of time?  Who can we invite into our homes, even for an extended period of time?

  • God has given each of us plenty.  He wants us to turn a (spiritual) profit on all of it (see Matthew 25:14-30 … Parable of the Talents).  He has told us to invest in the body of Christ – the Church – to make it grow in numbers and health … so, where will we start?