2/4/07 - Stewardship Sunday - Matthew 10:8

FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE
- Gifts from God
- Gifts for God

It was the first time Jesus had sent his disciples out on their own. Up to that point he had always been with them, teaching them, training them, leading them. But as we get to the tenth chapter in the book of Matthew, we see Jesus sending his disciples out into the world for the very first time. And these were his instructions to his faithful followers: “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” And after he gave them those instructions Jesus said something that I’m sure the disciples did not soon forget: “dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte.” (Doe-re-ON e-LA-be-te. Doe-re-ON DOE-te) Beautiful words, aren’t they? There’s a rhythm to it, it’s almost musical. dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte. “Freely you have received, freely give.” It was the Lord’s reminder to his disciples why they should preach the word and heal the sick and raise the dead and drive out demons. They had been given these gifts freely, and so the Lord wanted them to freely give to others for his glory.
dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte. Words we would do well to take to heart, aren’t they? Freely you have received, freely give. Because we have received so much so often for so long! And all of those gifts free of charge! That’s not something we’re used to. Free is not something that exists in our lives. Free means that a person brings something to your door, hands it to you, and walks away. I’m sure that’s never happened to you before. Because when the word “free” is used in this life, you have to buy something else, or do something else, or listen to something else or promise something else. Those things are not free. In fact, those things are the opposite of free because you have to do something to get them! But that’s the way the world works, isn’t it? Your paycheck is what you earned. At the store you get what you pay for. A loan is based on a promise that you will pay it back, with interest even! Nothing in this life is free. Nothing. But every gift from God is.
This is what free really is: God was existing in eternity when he chose you, he adopted you as his child, he determined to justify you through his blood, he decided to call you to faith, he gave you a spot in his eternal home of perfection - and then he created the world. He did all those things for you, he gave you all of those gifts before he created Adam and Eve. That’s free. Doing nothing for those gifts and deserving even less. And there is no greater example of that than Jesus on the cross.
With a world full of sinners, there was no reason why God should have sent his Son. With the knowledge that every person would constantly sin all the time for as long as the world existed, God should have just left us. He could have said, and in all fairness, “You sinned. You had your chance. Too bad.” That would be fair. But instead he says, “You sinned. You had your chance. Here’s my Son. Here’s my Son to do his whole life what you fail to do every day. Here’s my Son to hang on the cross with nails fitted for your hands. Here’s my Son suffering hell when you’re the one that earned it. Here’s my Son so that I can turn my back on him - just so that I can shine my face on you. Here is my Son and everything that comes with him, free of charge.” God has freely given you salvation through his Son, not expecting you to pay him back, because he knows you can’t. Not thinking that you’ve earned it, because he knows you deserve something quite different. Not being fair, but being loving. And it’s a good thing his love is not fair.
And, of course, since he has given us this ultimate gift, he can and has given us all the lesser gifts as well. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with [Jesus], graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) And he has. And he will. Physical blessings. Spiritual blessings. Just like we talked about a few Sunday’s ago.
If you weren’t here the Sunday we talked about spiritual gifts, I’m sorry you missed that. We spent the time during the sermon to write down the top three spiritual gifts you believe the Lord has blessed you with. And those of you that were here, I hope you came up with at least three. And I hope that all of you realize that every one of those gifts is absolutely free. And completely undeserved. And now that the Lord has given you these gifts he is sending you out with these gifts to serve others, to serve him, to serve the Lord’s kingdom in any way you can. And so listen to the words of your Lord and Savior as he speaks directly to you on your way out into the world: dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte.
Our first reading today was about Joseph of Arimathea. He freely gave his time to the Lord - and I’m sure it did take a long time to take Jesus’ body down from the cross, clean it off, wrap it in linen and spices, carry him to a tomb, set things up, and finally close the opening with a boulder. What a wonderful example for us to follow. dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte. But do we? It’s a matter of making the time and taking the time. If I asked you to stick around and stuff door hangers today after church, how many excuses could you come up with? If I asked you to meet me on our property in two Saturdays to help get things cleaned up, how many different reasons could you find not to come? If I gave you the opportunity to learn how to evangelize to those you know, how many different ways could you convince yourself not to show up? I could give you plenty of reasons myself. If I were sitting in the congregation I would come up with any number of excuses, because I’m lazy, and because it’s hard to make the time and take the time. What I’m saying, my Christian friends, is that whenever you are tempted to think in that way, I urge you to remember the Lord’s words to you as he sends you with his gracious gifts out into the world: dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte.
Our second reading was about King David freely giving his talents to the Lord. Knowing what his gifts were and using them to the best of his abilities. What a wonderful example for us to follow. dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte. But do we? Do we strive to freely use our talents that have been freely given to us? Don’t wait for me to ask you to use your gifts! Don’t wait for an opportunity to just drop in your lap! There will always be other things that come up. There will always be something else to do rather than use your gifts for the good of the kingdom. Ask me. Tell me that you want to use a specific spiritual gift and you want to know how. Take the initiate to freely give. Take the initiative to thank the Lord with the talents he has given to you.
Our third Scripture reading was about the churches in Macedonia who freely gave offerings to help the Lord’s people. A wonderful display of charity. Another wonderful example for us to follow. dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte. But do we? Do we give what we could? Do we give because we have to? Do we give because it’s expected? Do we give out of habit? Remember, the Lord is not concerned about the size of the gift, he concerned about the reason you give it. And that’s why every Sunday, when it comes time for the offering during the service, I say, “We now give our offerings to the Lord out of thanks for what he has given to us.” Isn’t that exactly the point here? We freely give our offerings to the Lord because he has freely given them to us. True offerings come from a willing heart, a thankful heart. And if you ever struggle with that motivation with giving your time giving your talents or giving your treasures, all you have to do is look at what Christ has already done.
And that’s what all of us need to do on a regular basis. Look back at Christ. Because our time, our talents, our treasures don’t mean a thing unless love and thanks for Christ is the motivation behind them. And if it’s not, I don’t want your time. I don’t want your talents. I don’t want your treasures. Because giving anything without the being motivated by Christ’s love is worthless.
A few years ago a pastor was preaching a stewardship sermon to his congregation, encouraging them to give from the heart. After the service a woman came out of church clearly angry and said to the pastor, “What do you want me to give? What is it that you want?” The pastor said, “I don’t want to tell you what to give, I want you to give whatever you are motivated by Christ’s love to give.” The woman, not satisfied with the answer, shot back, “Well, how much? Do you want 5 dollars? 50 dollars?” And the pastor said, “No, no, I don’t want you to misunderstand. Look. Why don’t you read the book of Romans this week. Read about all the things Christ has done for you. And with that in mind, give whatever you are motivated to give.” The next week the woman was back in church, and as she walked out after the service she handed the pastor a check and said, “I read the book of Romans and you were right, I was motivated to give.” The pastor thanked her and slipped the check in his pocket not thinking anything about it. Later that day as he was changing clothes he found the check that he had forgotten about and pulled it out of his pocket. It was a check for $50,000.
True story. A true story about a Christian woman motivated to give because of what the Lord had given to her. Read Romans this week. Look at what the Lord has done for you. Look at what the Lord has sacrificed for you. Look at what the Lord has given you. And let that gospel, let that love of Christ motivate you and everything you do and everything you say and everything you give. dwreovn ejlavbete, dwreovn dovte.
Amen.

“May the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” - 2 Thess. 2:16-17