November 10, 2024. Sermon Title: Giving With The Heart

First Mennonite Church

November 10, 2024

Giving with the heart

Text: Exodus: 25:1-9

As we begin to look forward to Thanksgiving, let us set our hearts on the ways God blesses us daily and the ways we express our gratitude to Him.

Today, we will start by taking a look at God’s instruction to Moses after God established his covenant to take the Israelites as his people and after giving them the 10 Commandments. God gave Moses a very important assignment: to request from the people the needed materials with which to build the Tabernacle. So in Exodus chapter 25, we read these words:

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

The details about how the Tabernacle, its interior, and furniture should be made are given in chapters 25-30.  Along these five chapters, God gave Moses step-by-step instructions for the interior, and exterior designs and detailed specifications for all the holy furniture and utensils to be used for worship and sacrifice. It’s clear: nothing God ordered was negotiable. The price tag was not to be bartered upon. And the purpose of this place is for God to dwell among his people. 

It was not until chapter 35 that Moses summoned the people of Israel and presented God’s request.

35: 4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: 5 ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD:

It is important for us to take note of the time when God made this request. God had already delivered the Israelites from Egypt. God had already executed his judgment upon Pharaoh, his land, people, and his army. God had already proven to the Israelites that he was determined to fulfill his promise of giving them a land of their own. Israel had witnessed God’s power as they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. But the most recent event then, was that God had established with them a covenant to be their God and the Israelites his chosen people.

God’s request did not come “out of the blue.” It was not an arbitrary request God made Israelites asking them for materials and their valuables. God did not impose upon the Israelites to let go of what they had. And even so, God would only receive what would be offered to him if given willingly. God would only take pleasure in what would be given to him out of a thankful heart for what God had done.

Isn’t this an amazing thing? Within this context where we often say that God’s relationship with Israel is on the basis of the Law, yet, God would not receive any gift toward the sanctuary if given by force.  God wanted everything to be used for his dwelling place to be given out of gratitude and joy.

After Moses spoke those words to the people of Israel, we are told that every man and woman went to his or her tent to bring a gift to the Lord. And they kept bringing materials every morning. In chapter 36 we see Moses being forced to make a proclamation: that the Israelites should stop bringing more of everything previously asked for. There was more than enough for everything that needed to be done (36:7).  

As I was writing my sermon on Friday, I got the weekly online newsletter “Ministry Watch.” One of the articles was regarding the decline in church giving. A large percentage of churches and ministries are seeing a decline in financial giving.

If ancient Israel could give God out of joy and gratitude to the point of surplus, which I called “grace giving,” how do we living under God’s grace give to God?

In the NT passage this morning, Paul invited the Corinthians to give to God cheerfully, because God takes pleasure in the cheerful giver.

Grace-giving is not bound to the legality of the tenth percent of what we earn. We should give not be because we do not want our church to close its doors. We should give, but not be because we feel we have a moral obligation to do so. We give in response to what God has done for us in Christ Jesus. God gave his all when he gave us Jesus. God had no reservations when He gave us Jesus. Therefore, when we give we do in humble reverence for how God has given us. 

So the question is: what is my motivation to give or not give to God through the church?

In his book, Speaking About Money, Mark Vincent says there are four reasons why people give to the church.

1.  I give because God will give me back. Although the giver acknowledges God as the source of all gifts, the intention in giving seems to oblige God to reward his giving.

2.  I give because the church helps people around and thus, indirectly I am helping someone along the way and that is good. This philanthropic attitude about giving sees the church as an agent in the service to the needy whom God cares for. So by giving the giver sees himself/herself as participating with God in the needs of the world.

3.  I give because it is fair to do so. Everything belongs to God and when I give I know he will care for me. This attitude of fairness is related to the one I just mentioned: “If God gives me, it is fair that others receive some of it too”. 

  • I give because everything, including myself, belongs to God and so I submit myself to God with all that I have. In this attitude, the giver realizes that God is the center of life. He or she gives out of reverence and full surrender to the source of life itself. God owns everything including the giver and thus He deserves to be honored even with material wealth.

There is a little story of a grandfather who went out for a walk with his little granddaughter. While walking they met a friend whom a few minutes later they met again but this time the little girl was perched on her grandfather’s shoulder. “My, oh my how fast you’ve grown up!” He exclaimed, smiling at the little girl. “Not really, don’t you see? Not all of this is me.” The little girl responded.

My dear friends, who we are and what we have today as a congregation, is not all ours. Today, we stand on the shoulders of godly individuals, men and women, and generations of families who labored for the Lord in the past. In their days, they labored diligently, contributed generously, prayed fervently, and gave their lives to God that First Mennonite Church may continue its ministry and presence here in Paso Robles. As Paul would say in Philippians, God inspired them, to both will and work for God’s good pleasure (2:13). And so, we must give thanks to God for their dedication and love for the Lord and the church.

Today, I give thanks to the Lord for you, and for the love you have for the Lord and one another in this fellowship. I admire the commitment you have to the Lord.

Some years ago, I took part in an activity of the clergy of Paso Robles and I happened to sit beside the Catholic priest. And he asked which church I served and how long I had been serving. I responded to his questions and then he asked me, “And how many families meet in your church?” I told him, “around 30-45 persons” at that time. He could not believe how a church with these many years of life and with that number of people can continue and do ministry.

I want to thank you for your generous giving. Because of it, the church has blessed people in this community with food, gas, prayers, and the message of salvation in Christ Jesus.

I also want to thank the tireless commitment and work of the church board members. These brothers and sisters watch and carry the work of the Lord, as good stewards. And they do so year after year without personal gain and many times without acknowledgment. God is still inspiring us to will and to work for his good pleasure.

We have a vacancy on the church board for a secretary. I want to invite you to consider it prayerfully and seriously. Maybe the Lord is calling you. Step up! Don’t be afraid.

Therefore, let us not take God’s blessings for granted. You are who you are, you have what you have because God in his generous providence opens his hands and blesses you daily. Let us surrender to the Lord and begin by giving ourselves first to him without reservation. Give also of what God has blessed you with, either with your talents, time, or resources.

The Apostle John can give us a Christ-centered principle:  “We love because he first loved us” (1John 4:19). We can therefore say, “We give because he first gave to us”. 

As we look forward to Thanksgiving Day, let us count our blessings. Let us commit ourselves to work for the good pleasure of the Lord, so that those coming after us may continue the work of the Lord. Amen!

Pastor A. Romero