A Life of Surrender—God, Faith, and Finances

Matthew 9:35 – 10:10

Now, I’ll be the first to admit this sounds just a little crazy, but here’s

the plan:

-immediately after worship this morning, twelve of us are going to

jump on a church van and head east toward Illinois

--we won’t take time to grab lunch or change clothes

--we won’t take an atlas, credit cards, or cash

--we’ll have no motel reservations because we have no idea

where we’ll be stopping

---since we’re taking no money, we’re just going to drive

until the van runs out of gas

---when that happens, we’ll figure that’s where God wants

us to serve—so we’ll get out and do just that: serve

----Joe preaches in the city park (I say “Joe” because I

know he’d be the first one to say, “Sign me up.”)

----the four high school students (who were happy to

volunteer and miss some classes) stop at the edge

of town and scatter from room to room at the local

nursing home

----two senior adults head to the community hospital

and end up spending a couple of hours with a

family whose 11-year-old son has been hit by a

car while riding his bike

----two ladies find the town’s women’s shelter and they

spend the evening doing laundry and cleaning

bathrooms, so they can give the residents a much

appreciated night off from their daily chores

----three guys join a game of pick-up basketball on a

run-down court across the tracks

-sounds cool, doesn’t it?

--the ultimate impromptu mission trip

-but now, it’s dark—you have no place to stay, you have no money

to buy gas or food, your van is thirsty and your team is hungry

--sure, it might be exciting to share stories about praying with a

young mother and her toddler or about making plans to shoot

hoops tomorrow afternoon with the same guys or about

reading Scripture with a nursing home resident and his family

---but cool stories don’t pay for a warm bed or a hot meal

It’s kinda’ funny to think about, but seriously—what if Joe planned a

trip like that for our students next summer?

-what if their “plan” was to drive ‘til they ran out of gas and then and

there started serving God and the people?

--students, would you honestly want to go on a trip like that?

---what if you spent several hot nights in an un-air-conditioned

van...what if you had to go 24 or 36 hours without food...

what if you had to walk 9 miles to the nearest town

because you didn’t run out of gas in a convenient place?

--parents, would you let your high school students go on a trip

like that...would you volunteer to go yourself?

---or would you spend your summer looking for a new youth

minister...someone who’s not dopey enough to “plan” a

trip like this?

-funny, isn’t it, that if we’d fire Joe for a cockamamie scheme like

this, then on those grounds, we would hypothetically give a

proverbial pink slip to Jesus...listen

Read Matthew 9:35 – 10:10

I realize this text is traditionally used for a missions, ministry, and

evangelism sermon—and it should be

-but there is something else going on here, as well

--did you notice that Jesus sends them out with the following

orders: Don’t take any money. Don’t take any luggage. Don’t

even take a change of clothes.

---obviously none of the disciples are teenage girls[!]

Our annual stewardship begins today

-my messages are going to revolve around, perhaps, the most

difficult theme of all—not money—but surrender

--and when it’s all over, we’ll probably wish we had spent several

weeks talking about tithing

Here’s something I have figured out—most preachers got it wrong

when it comes to financial giving and stewardship

-think about the approach you’ve heard most frequently in sermons

--why don’t more Christians tithe...or give more generously?

---it’s simple—you all are materialistic, selfish, greedy, worldly,

and sinfully obsessed with possessions—sound familiar?

Sure, most of us have heard that before...some of us have possibly

even preached that before

-but I’m convinced for most of us—that analysis is all wrong

--in fact, the real reason more Christians don’t tithe or give more

generously is actually much worse...and much deeper

--selfishness is easy to counter—guilt works fabulously

---and perhaps that’s why so many preachers resort to guilt

when they’re trying to increase their congregation’s giving

----tell a couple of tear-jerkers and make people feel

badly enough so that they up their offering for a

couple of weeks

---the problem, however, is that’s a short-term solution that

deals only with the surface problem...or if you think in

medical terms—guilt treats only the symptoms, but never

the disease

----the underlying disease itself is far more subtle and is

therefore far more dangerous...and that makes it

much more difficult to attack

What is this insidious disease?

-what keeps churches from fulfilling their God-given mission?

-what prevents believers from experiencing the joy of radical, Christ-

like giving?

-what lies at the root of this Christian pandemic of paralysis when it

comes to true, biblical stewardship?

It’s fear—plain and simple

-it’s a sickly lack of faith in God’s willingness and His ability to make

good on His promises

--promises like: Read Matthew 6:19-21, 24-33

-it’s a iron-willed resistance to the one thing that will change

everything—of course, that’s exactly what’s so frightening about

it—we are terrified of surrender...of totally letting go of control and

instead allowing God to take His rightful place as Lord

--don’t you think that’s exactly the point Jesus was driving into

the hearts of His disciples when He sent them out?

Don’t take any money. Don’t take any luggage. Don’t even take a

change of clothes.

-in other words, “Guys, you’re gonna’ have to trust Me on this one.”

And you know what?

-they did—they went on the poorest planned mission trip in history

--and evidently things worked out pretty well

--Matthew doesn’t tell us, but Mark gives some details of their

report-back service with Jesus à Read Mark 6:12-13, 30

---did you notice there’s not a single mention of going hungry

or even missing a meal...no one griped about their

accommodations (or lack thereof)

----perhaps because they were so incredibly focused on

their mission and because God was faithful to meet

their needs

Isn’t that funny?

-if you’ve been on any kind of mission trip, you know how true this is

--nothing is like home—I’ve slept on a gym floor for a week in

Wyoming and a math classroom in Tennessee, in Mississippi

Carla and I even slept in a closet...I’ve taken cold showers from

a hose draped over a piece of plastic

-but the classic experience was in Arlington, Texas, in July 2000

--26 of us spent a week in a 4-room, 2 bath apartment...for the

first 5 days we didn’t have air-conditioning...we ate the same

thing for breakfast...and every day we had bologna and cheese

sandwiches for lunch...and we worked an average of 11 hours

each day in the Texas heat...and survived on 5 hours of sleep

---frankly, it was horrible!

----but no one went hungry...no one had to sleep outside in

the rain...no one lacked what was necessary to

complete the mission

--but no one complained...and when we stood in front of this

church and told you about our trip, not a single person

mentioned the less-than-desirable living conditions

---instead, like the disciples, our students simply told you about

the incredible ways God used them to minister to others

Huh...odd, isn’t it, that we can live on a lot less, be uncomfortable,

sacrifice several things we once thought we needed...and if we are

focused on being who God has called us to be and doing what God

has called us to do

-then our personal comfort loses its value to us, and most of the

things we thought we needed...we don’t even miss

It would be my guess that many of you naturally resist the idea of

tithing—committing 10% of your income to God

-if I asked, and you answered honestly, I suspect I would hear

things like, “I don’t make enough money to tithe. I barely get by

as it is.”

--now, if I were to use the standard preaching technique, I would

tell you an emotional story to make you feel guilty—like about

the girl in Philadelphia who started saving her money so her

church could build new Sunday School classrooms

---but she became sick and died...and her parents found in

her room 57 pennies and a note that read, “Please give

this money to my church so the other children can have a

place to learn about Jesus.”

----and how her generosity sparked an outpouring of

giving that eventually resulted in a new educational

wing...and how you can go to the church today and

see a painting of a little girl who gave all she had

---then I could challenge you to give up eating out once a

week or to cancel your cable TV and instead give that

money to God...because that’s the least you can do

----but I’m not going to do that

Instead, I’m going to challenge you with something more demanding

-I challenge you to trust God...trust Him with your money, trust Him

with your needs

--I find it sadly ironic that we will trust God with our eternity, but

we won’t trust Him with our paycheck

-I challenge you to tithe—not as an experiment to see if you get that

promotion—I challenge you to tithe because that’s what God does

Read Malachi 3:6-12

I’ve heard some TV preachers teach that you should tithe for the

amount you want to earn

-so, for example, if you currently make $500 each week and you

would like to earn $1000, then you should give $100 a week

(which would be the tithe on $1000)...and then believe God will

increase your income to that amount—like some game show

--that’s absolutely ridiculous...and completely unbiblical

---we do not give so that we can receive more

---remember the rationale Jesus used in Matthew 10:8?

----give so you can get? no!

----give because you have already been given so much

So I challenge you to tithe—not as an investment for your personal

financial gain—but to tithe, first as a matter of obedience, but even

more importantly as an expression of trust and surrender

-can you make it on 90% of what you currently bring home?

-do you trust God enough to be able to meet your needs on 90% of

your present income?

--seriously—or is that just too big of a job for God?

If you can’t trust God in such a small thing...imagine what would

happen to your faith when the serious crises come?

-like a terrible auto accident or your company going bankrupt or

your daughter being diagnosed with cancer

--if your faith is so weak that you can’t move past the issue of

tithing—which, in the big picture, is not that critical of an

issue—then how would you deal with something like that?

Now do you understand why this is so tough?

-the question really isn’t “Do you love God more than you love your

new Nikes?”

--the question is “Is God big enough to forgive me and save me?

Is He big enough to direct and guide my life? Is He big

enough to take care of my needs? Do I trust God to be God?”

When I was at Southwestern Seminary in the early ‘90’s, we were

told about studies that revealed 7% of students tithed

-only 7% of future pastors, youth ministers, and music ministers

trusted God with their finances

--Carla and I were always part of that 7%...even though she

was making $6/hour and, for the first six months, I was

earning maybe $20/week

---we didn’t tithe because we were paying God off or

because we were hoping to impress Him or to make

Him love us...we weren’t doing it because we were

hoping to parlay our obedience into better-paying jobs

--we did so because we tithed when I was an Air Force officer

and money was not an issue, so we figured it was only

right to tithe when I became a seminary student and money

was an issue every week

---did God reward our faithfulness with a winning powerball

ticket, did I begin a worldwide television ministry

empire, or strike oil in my yard like Jed Clampitt?

---no—even better—God enabled us to pay our bills, to

graduate with no debt, and to see Him meet needs in

ways we could never have imagined

----was it fun? no ----was it easy? no

----was it an invaluable time of faith in God, of

obedience to God, and intimacy with God?

-----no... doubt

Today—are you holding something back from God...or are you living

a life completely surrendered to Him?

-does it include your future plans?

-does it include your family? friends? relationships?

-does it include how you are serving Him?

-does it include your career?

-does it include a secret sin you’ve been hanging on to?

-does it include your finances?

If not, why are you choosing to remain a hostage of those things?

-today—find the peace that comes from trusting God to care for them

--your freedom in Christ, as well as your growth as His disciple

hangs in the balance—for what possible reason would you wait

another day?

Have you surrendered your life itself to God?

-have you trusted your eternity into the nail-pierced hands of Jesus?

If not, the Bible describes you as being already dead in your sins

-today—find the forgiveness and security that comes from God’s

grace working through your faith in Jesus

--your eternity in heaven or hell is at stake—for what possible

reason would you wait another day?

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Read 1 Chronicles 29:10-18