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(various scriptures)

INTRODUCTION: We are continuing on our theme of “Called” this morning, as we look at a number of things that we are called to as Christians. We have already looked at Called to Community, Called to Holiness, and Called to Communicate. And this morning I would like us to look at “Called to Contribute.” If we go back and look at our four purposes as a church, this falls under our second purpose, which is Community, or Love your Neighbor.

Now we already looked at Community in our earlier message “Called to Community,” but today’s message addresses a different aspect of Community. As Christians in community we are not only called to be together, we are called to work together. Part of Christian community is working together to achieve God’s plan.

Ephesians 4:16 says this: “From Christ the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” A couple years ago we did a whole series of messages based around this verse. We called it the Power and Challenge of One, because we saw that the whole body moves forward and makes progress only as each one contributes, as each part does its work. We are each called to contribute, and every person in the church should contribute to the whole.

I would like to look at three areas in particular this morning where we each need to contribute if we are going to do God’s work together here in Agawam. We each need to give of our time and talents. We each need to give of our finances. And we each need to give of our love.

I. Give of your time and talents. (Ephesians 4:7-13)

We are called to contribute first of all with our time and our talents. Look at Ephesians 4:7-13 with me:

“But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: ‘When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.’ . . . It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:7-13)

Notice the two words at the beginning of verse 7: “each one.” “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” God has given each one of us gifts and abilities to serve him and each other. Each one of you has certain talents, skills and abilities which you can use to serve God and the church.

If you are a Christian then God has also given you spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are special gifts given to believers through the Holy Spirit for the specific purpose of serving the church. But whether we are talking about spiritual gifts, or natural talents or learned skills, all of these gifts come from God, and God desires you to use the gifts he has given you to serve others.

Ephesians 4 goes on to talk about apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. We are probably most familiar today with the final category in the list of pastor and teacher. Many people have the mistaken idea that the pastors and teachers of the church are supposed to do all the work of the church while everyone else just shows up.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Look at the passage again. Why did God give pastors and teachers to the church? “In order to prepare God’s people for works of service.” The pastor’s job is not to do the work of the ministry, but to prepare God’s people to do the work of the ministry. The pastor-teacher is called to equip God’s people for works of service. So in our church we have one pastor, and we have three elders, but we have many ministers. Every one is called to minister or serve in the church. “To each one grace has been given as Christ has apportioned it.”

You might say, “Well, I can’t teach the Bible, I can’t sing, I don’t like getting up in front of people. How am I supposed to serve the church?” God has given you gifts for service. Everyone can do something. Take a look at the Church Profile Questionnaire in your bulletin this morning. You will notice there is a place on the backside where you can indicate your skills and talents or areas where you may be interested in serving. (Go over list with congregation.)

The point is this. Everyone can do something. God has given you gifts for service, and he expects you to use them in the service of the church. So as you fill out the front side of your questionnaire this week for our new directory, make sure you fill out the backside, too. And if you are not already serving the church in some capacity, look over the list and pick an area where you are not only interested in serving in the future, but where you could start serving right now.

Remember, the body of Christ only works the way it’s supposed to when each part does its work. We are called to contribute. And the first way you can contribute to the body of Christ is through the giving of your time and talents.

II. Give of your finances. (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7)

A second way we are called to contribute is through the giving of our finances. Once again, this only works if each part does its work. A church cannot move forward when only a few give or when only a few give according to Biblical principles. Everyone needs to participate.

Look at 1 Corinthians 16:2:

“On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” (1 Corinthians 16:2)

Did you notice those words “each one” again? God expects each one of us to give something for the work of the church. This is part of our worship before God. You may be able to give a little, or you may be able to give a lot. The amount doesn’t matter to God. What matters to God is that each one gives from the heart, that each person brings an offering before him. Children, if you receive an allowance from your parents, you should give a portion of that allowance as an offering to God. Teens, if you have a part-time job, or if you do babysitting on the side, you should give a portion of what you earn as an offering. When it comes to giving, each one should contribute – children, teens and adults.

Notice also that each one should give regularly. 1 Corinthians 16:2 says, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money.” The first day of the week was Sunday. As the church gathered for worship each Sunday, Paul instructed each one to set aside a sum of money. Our giving to the church should not be haphazard or random. If we are to give as God directs us to give, our giving must be purposeful, intentional, regular.

We can see God’s wisdom in this when we look at our other financial practices. When you are trying to save money for something, whether college or retirement or a new car, what is the best way to save? You set something aside every week. It may not even be a whole lot, but when you discipline yourself to set it aside regularly, that something begins to grow. I’ve mentioned before that Rose and I set aside a small amount each month for our boys’ college savings. It’s not much, but it’s something. And over time those college accounts are beginning to grow. That’s the power of regular saving or investing.

It’s the same thing with giving to the church. When you give regularly to the church, even a small amount adds up over the year, and your contribution will have an important effect on the church’s finances. And when each one of us gives regularly to the church, then we are all working together to fund the church’s ministry. Regular giving also helps the church to be a better steward of its funds, as the church can budget and plan and prioritize more effectively when there is a regular stream of income.

How much should you give? 1 Corinthians 16:2 says that each one should give “in keeping with his income.” The phrase literally means “as you have prospered” and means that you should give in proportion to the income that you have received. So biblically, not only should each one give, and each one give regularly, but each one should give a regular portion of their income for the work of the church. If we are going to be obedient to God’s word in this area of giving, we should give regularly and proportionately to God’s work.

Notice that you are to give in keeping with your income, not in keeping with your attendance, or how much you liked the sermon, but in keeping with your income. In other words, you should prayerfully consider what proportion of your income you will give to the work of the church, and then give that portion regularly, whether you are here or not, whether you particularly cared for the sermon or not. Some people attend church occasionally, and when they attend they throw something into the offering plate. And if they really liked the sermon they might throw in something extra. That is not biblical giving. That is like buying a ticket to the movies, and it goes against the whole aspect of purposeful, meaningful, worshipful, regular giving in proportion to your income.

Of course the question then comes up, what proportion of my income should I give to the church? Should I give 2%? 5%? 10? 20? In the Old Testament the Jewish people under the law were required to bring a tithe, or ten percent of their income to the Lord. As Christians we are no longer under the Jewish law, so people sometimes wonder, “How does the tithe apply today?”

Actually we first find the tithe mentioned in the book of Genesis, long before the time of Moses and before the Jewish law ever came into effect. And we find people bringing offerings to the Lord as early as Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. We also find that people brought “the first portion” of their income to the Lord. The tithe was the first tenth of all that God gave you, and it was understood that the first tenth belonged to God. So although the law of tithing, the legal requirement from the Old Testament no longer applies to Christians, the principle of tithing and of giving God the first portion predates the law and continues today.

As Christians we do not give God the first portion because the law demands it. We give God the first portion because it belongs to him, and it is part of our worship. We begin with the tithe, but then we also give in keeping with our income. That means that many people are able to give God far more than a tithe. For a person on a low or limited income, giving God 10% is a huge sacrifice financially, whereas another person with greater financial means wouldn’t even miss it if they gave it away. That’s one of the problems when you approach giving from the legal standpoint of the tithe. The tithe can actually become a limiting factor in our giving to God.

Christian giving is not about the tithe. It is about giving to God generously and even sacrificially because we have a heart for God and we desire to see our resources used for his kingdom. There are Christians who give anywhere from 20-90% of their income back to God, in keeping with their income They recognize that it all came from God anyways, and so they give back to God, praying that God will use what they give to further the gospel and advance his kingdom here on earth.

So, back to our original question, what proportion of your income should you give back to God? 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” In other words, no one can tell you what you should give. That is between you and the Lord. It is something that you need to pray about, and then you should give as God directs you to give. I believe you should begin with a tithe. But God may lead you to give well above that in keeping with your income.

Whatever God directs you to give, you are called to contribute to the body of Christ, not only with your time and talents, but also with your finances.

III. Give of your love. (John 13:34-35; 1 Corinthians 13:3)

And then finally, you are called to contribute to the body of Christ with your love. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) There’s that phrase “each other” or “one another” again.

Jesus’ command is pretty powerful here. It is not just a command to love each other, but to love one other the way Jesus loved you. How did Jesus love you? He died for you when you were still God’s enemy. He gave his all for you, and he commands us to give our all for each other.

Without love all of our giving is worthless anyway. 1 Corinthians 13:3 says: “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 3:3) So unless we are giving of our time and talents and finances out of love for Christ and each other, our giving is worthless. We gain nothing. We must love one another deeply as Christ loved us.

We cannot function as a healthy body of Christ if we do not love one another. And once again, this is something we all need to do. Going back to Ephesians 4:16 where we started the message today, Paul says: “The whole body … grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

CONCLUSION: As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to contribute. There is no such thing as spectator Christianity. The body of Christ can only move forward as each person participates. We can only fulfill God’s plans for us here at Agawam Church of the Bible as each one of you does your part.

I believe God has called us to do and to be something very special here at Agawam Church of the Bible. ACB is a place of love and grace and acceptance where people can come to know God through a relationship with Jesus Christ and then grow in that relationship together. But that will only happen as we all work together to make it happen.

You are called to give of your time and talents to the Lord. You are called to give of your finances to God’s work. And you are called to give of your love to each other. Let us work together to fulfill God’s purpose for his church.

© Ray Fowler

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