It's Our Turn to Give

The children can be dismissed for children's church at this time. Amen. Come on, Ayla. They're waiting for you, Ayla. Ashley, it looks like you're starting children's church this morning.

Alright. Matthew chapter one, and we're gonna begin reading in verse 18. Matthew one eighteen. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make a public make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. She shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of by of the Lord by the prophet saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. Why Jesus? Because his name means the Lord is salvation or the Lord saves. For that is the reason for his coming. It is the reason for his birth.

It is the reason for our celebration. The Bible tells us in Galatians four when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, under the condemnation of it, that we might be redeemed and set free and forgiven forever through the one who came to give his life a ransom for us. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Let's pray once more. Lord, thank you for this opportunity to look into your word today.

Pray, Lord, that you would direct my words, our service. May you be glorified. May you be exalted in our midst today. May you draw souls to the savior. Lord, thank you for this opportunity and the privilege that we have been given.

May you truly be honored this morning, and may you do a mighty work, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So I'd like to speak for a few minutes this morning on its our turn to give.

Sticking with last week's message in the banquet, I wanted to go into a little more depth on the subject of giving. Gift giving is a thing at Christmas that most people do, Christian or not, but for the believer, it should have a much deeper meaning than for the world. For God so loved the world, he did something. What did he do? He gave.

He gave. He gave us his son. Now it is our turn to give. When I was a child, when we were children, our parents gave, in most cases, much for us. They gave their lives, their time, their resources, their love in very unselfish ways.

When birthdays came, they gave. When Christmas came, they gave. When we needed clothes and food and shelter, they gave and gave again. Many of them worked tedious hours and strenuous jobs day after day to provide for us. My dad worked for thirty years as a wireman for General Electric in Roanoke.

It paid okay, and it provided for his family, for his two boys to go attend Christian school and eventually Christian college. He didn't work as a wireman because it was his lifelong dream to wire things together for the rest of his life. He did it because his family needed it, And he did it diligently. And he did it faithfully. And he provided for us not just in the means of of money and physical things but also in spiritual and other ways that a father should.

And as parents often do. Yet, when adult children these days are asked to give back to their parents, they quite often react the same way as we do to God. Rather than with gratitude and love and blessing in return, we heap upon them heartaches and a cold shoulder. That is sadly testament of a culture that has turned its back on God, some who treat their parents that way, and many who treat their God that way. In relation to both our families and our God, it is our turn to give.

To receive so much and give nothing or little in return is unthinkable. And God has already given us so much more than we could explain in words. But let's try. Let's look at just a few things that God has given us this morning. Let's start with this one.

God gave you life apart from the power, wisdom, and love, and will of God, I would not exist nor would you. And you know something? I'm glad I exist. I am grateful for the one who gave me life. He gave us life.

He made us. Job thirty three four and Genesis two seven say, the spirit of God hath made me. The breath of the almighty hath given me life. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Scientists to this day cannot explain where life came from.

Well, they don't have to. God's told us where life came from. We know where life come from. I don't have to go to a scientist to find out where life came from. You know, I mean, science is good for some things.

It is. It really it's necessary. Boy, we enjoy so much. But one thing I don't have to go to scientists to find out is where life came from. God gave me life.

I am here because of him. I enjoy all of the pleasures of life because of him. Without him, no life. Praise the Lord. He gives us he gives good things to all of his creatures.

Good things. Matthew five forty four and forty five. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you.

Pray for them which despisefully use you and persecute you that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven. For he maketh his son to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Anything we enjoy in this life, it came from where? From whom? From God.

The air we breathe, the things that these decorations are made from, the sky we look outside and enjoy, the stars in the night sky, the birds, water we drink, the food we eat, All those good things, they all come from the one who made them all. They come from God. James one seventeen s says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. All good things come from him. Now, there bad things in the world?

Sure, there are bad things in the world. How did that happen? Satan and sin. That's how that happened. No Satan, no sin, no bad things.

The good things come from God. The bad things are a result of sin and Satan. I thank God for all the good things from the air I breathe to the family I enjoy. They all come from him. God gave us his son as we mentioned earlier.

For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. He gave him to us for us that we might be redeemed and saved and know him. Christ gave himself for us. He came willingly. He came with a purpose to die on the cross for the sins of a world that had turned their back on him that he might redeem them and bring them back.

Galatians one four and second Peter three nine, who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and of our father, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. God does not want one soul that he created to spend an eternity in hell. He wants everyone to be saved, but part of being created in the image of God means God created us with a will. He did not want robots. He wanted people made in his image who had a choice to love him or to run from him.

And when we ran from him, he didn't just throw up his hands and say, okay. Well, they chose wrong. That's it. No. He already had a plan from the foundation of the world to give his son, to give himself a sacrifice that he might bring us back.

And all who put their faith in him shall be saved. If there's nothing else in scripture you can understand, understand this. God gave his only begotten son. That baby in a manger is not a decoration. He did not stay a baby.

He came. He grew up. He ministered. He died. And he rose again and is seated at the right hand of the father where he ever lives to make intercession for us because as he is God, he is also man.

He is the one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. You do not have to go to a priest. You do not have to go through Mary. There is only one, Jesus Christ, the risen savior. And he gave himself for us.

God is a giving and loving God who gave us his most precious treasure, his his son, to be a sacrifice for us, to die for us, to take upon himself our punishment, to pay our debt so that we, through faith in him, could receive God's greatest gift of all, salvation and eternal life. What does the Bible say? But God commendeth his love toward us. What's that word commendeth mean? It means he showed, he expressed his love.

Has there any been any time that somebody said I love you and you thought, I don't know. Because words need to be followed by what? Actions. Love is not just something you say, it's something you do. It's something God did.

He doesn't just say, I love you. He showed, expressed that love. He demonstrated it in sending his son. He demonstrated his love toward us and that while we were yet, what, sinners, Christ died for us. God didn't wait for us to to have an epiphany and turn around and come back to him.

Sadly, he knew that was never gonna happen unless he intervened. And so he sent his son to Earth. He became one of us. He took that all important step of coming to us when we could not come to him. For the wages of sin is death, but the what?

The gift of God is what? Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You can have eternal life. You can know the joy and freedom and hope that there is in knowing this world is not all there is, that this life that I live now, it's it's not going to end. I'm I'm going to change addresses.

I'm going to get a new body one day, and and that's a good thing. Several ways, that's a good thing. But but I have eternal life. I serve a risen savior. He's up in heaven right now.

He went there to prepare a place for me and for you and for all who come to him in faith. That is God's gift. You can't earn it. You can't cleanse yourself. You have to come to Christ.

Accept the gift that only God can give. Forgiveness for your sins through faith in him and on the cleansing that only he can give and the eternal life and only he can impart and you don't get eternal life when you die. You got eternal life when you were born again by faith in Jesus Christ. The life that was taken from you, from us, before we're even born back in the Garden Of Eden is restored in Jesus Christ, our savior. The relationship that we were robbed of is restored in Jesus Christ.

A gift. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it's the what? The the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Gift. God gives us a record that we might know these things.

Here's the record. Here it is. Hold it in my hands. Now, been translated into hundreds of different languages spread all around the world. You can hold it in a book in your hands.

You can read it on your phone anywhere. Download one of dozen different apps on Android or or what's that other? Yeah. Apple. Yeah.

But I I have an iPhone, so but not anti Apple. But anyway, But God has given us a record, preserved it for us, put it in our own hands, in our own language. We can read it for ourselves. You you don't have to trust in me. You can trust in the Lord and in his word.

You can read it for yourself. You can see if what you're being taught is right or wrong. You don't have to wander around in darkness. God has declared his will to us right here in his word. And he's given us his spirit.

I'm getting ahead of myself. To help us in understanding it ourselves. John 20 John twenty thirty one, but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. What is John talking about? This right here.

And we have it. Thanks to God. It's miraculous. Yes, it is. It is his word.

And he has given to us his spirit. John four thirteen. First John four thirteen, hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us because he has given us his what? He has given us his spirit. He is the earnest, the Bible says, of our salvation.

He is the first part of that great inheritance that is ours in Christ Jesus. He assures us that there is more to come in heaven. He has sealed us until the day of redemption. And many other things that we are blessed as the church to know and have through his spirit. He has given us all things that we need.

Second Peter one three, according as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that have called us to glory and virtue. What you need to make it through this life, now, yeah, yes, you do need physical food. Yes, you do need some water to drink. Yes. But what you need as a person to live and grow and learn and and make your way through this life into eternity, it has all been provided for us in his word, in his spirit, and by his son.

You do not need to look other places if you have Jesus. If you have his word, if you have his spirit, look to him. Be fulfilled in him. Be led by him. Matthew six thirty three says, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Will you will lack nothing that you need if you will just follow who? If you'll just follow Jesus. He'll see to that. Things of the spiritual nature, things of emotional nature, things of educational nature, things of physical nature. Follow Christ.

He might, you know, want you to go to school. You know? He might want you to go do this job or that job or learn this thing or that thing, but just follow Christ. He'll help you. And we can't go wrong.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not into your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall, what? Direct your paths. That's where it starts.

Trust in him. He won't let you down. We let ourselves down, but he won't. We could spend the rest of the service recounting all the Lord has given and done for us, which we are quite of which we are quite undeserving. But let's consider this.

Is there anything we can give in return? Yes. Yes, there is. There is nothing you have whereby to earn your salvation. But as a child of God, there is much you have that you can give in his service, that you can give out of love and gratitude to bring glory and pleasure to the one who created you.

And, yes, we were created in his image. We feel pleasure and so can he. We are told in Revelation we were created for his what? Pleasure. You have much you can give him.

You have much to give that metaphorically will put a smile on his face. Romans twelve one says, Paul writes, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. What is Paul saying? Paul says you have something to give. You have something to give.

You can present your bodies, what? A living sacrifice. Now there are martyrs in this world and there are people that have been called to that. Most of us aren't called to give our bodies a dying sacrifice, but all of us are called to give it a what? A living sacrifice.

It is our what? Our reasonable service. Well, why is it reasonable to give your life and your your days, your energy, your time, your body in service to God? Why is that why isn't that reasonable? Well, we didn't we just didn't we just go over why that's reasonable?

Who gave us this body? Who gave us life? Who gives us time? Who gives us air to breathe? Who who gave his son that we might might know him and have forgiveness in eternal life, who's given us his word and his spirit and all things that we need for his service.

He did. Is it not reasonable for us to give in return? Is it not reasonable for children out of love and gratitude to give to their parents? Is it not even more reasonable for us to give back to our God? Isn't it time that we started looking as our relationship with God is our opportunity to give rather than our opportunity to take?

We so often treat God like a genie or Santa Claus. He is neither. He is God. He is our heavenly father. He is a person.

He has a will. He saved you for that purpose and according to that will, it is our turn to give. I mentioned earlier, that word in English present your bodies. Interestingly enough, it's also be pronounced present, which can mean you're present as in you're here, or it can mean present as under that thing that you put under the what? The tree on Christmas.

A present. Present. To present our bodies to the Lord. Present as the present to the Lord. No strings attached.

Out of the goodness and gratitude of our hearts. God deserves a present. He deserves you. He deserves me. I don't know why he wants me.

I wouldn't want me. But he gave his son for me. He's redeemed me, and it's my turn. It's our turn to give to him. First Corinthians eight five.

Paul writes in praise of the Macedonians. He says, and this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. Paul went to Macedonia and asked for them to consider giving an offering back to the church in Jerusalem from whence the gospel had come. The people in Jerusalem were struggling. There was a famine.

There's persecution. And he was hoping that they would be willing to give a little out of gratitude to the church in Jerusalem. But more than that, they went beyond that. They they gave of themselves. They gave sacrificially.

They went beyond above and beyond the call of duty in a manner of speaking, but really not because we can't go above and beyond with God. You cannot out give God. You can never give back to God what God has given to you. But we can give what little we have, we can give of ourselves. It is reasonable.

It is should be our joy, not just our duty. If it's if it feels like a duty, then your relationship with your Lord is not what it ought to be because it should be a what? It should be a joy. What can we give? What should we give in return?

In closing, just a few things this morning. What can you give? You can give your love, your devotion. Matthew 22, Jesus said, what was the greatest commandment? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment. And what does God want? He wants your love, your devotion, your allegiance. He deserves it. Does he not?

I think he does. We love him because he what? First loved us, first John four nineteen. He loved us first. Now it's whose turn?

Now it's our turn to show our love. We are worthless indeed if we withhold from him our love, devotion, and allegiance. You can give of your love and your devotion to him. He deserves also our will and our heart. Our will in our heart.

Joshua twenty four fifteen. Joshua began that chapter before Israel by recounting all of the things God did for them. Sound familiar? Everything God gave? And he said, now choose you this day, what, whom you will serve.

Who are you going to you're gonna serve the the gods that your father served in Egypt on the other side of the flood who did nothing for you but caused you heartache and toil and pain? Are are you going to to give your heart and your will to the gods, the Amorites, the Canaanites in whose land you are going to dwell who have done nothing for you and can do nothing for you? Or will you give your life, your heart, your will in service to the one who did all these things for you. Now, that's an obvious choice, isn't it? He says, for me and my house, we will serve who?

The Lord. Serve the Lord. Doing his will and not just ours. Matthew sixteen twenty four and six twenty one say this, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me for where your treasure is, there will your heart be, what, also. It's time that we put our will under his will.

God doesn't say he wants you to give up all of your will. Your will just has to be put needs to be put under under his will. It needs to be directed by his will and his purpose. That's the way it should be. There was a counselor at the camp that we used to take the teens to, and as a youth pastor, he taught us a little about counseling young people.

He made a little chart. It looked like a y, and it it represented this, the saying that was always on it. Just two choices on the shelf, pleasing God or pleasing self. Which will you choose? When you get to the point of the you have to choose which which way you're gonna choose.

Oftentimes, pleasing self and pleasing God aren't the same direction. So when you come to those choices in life, which will you choose? We should choose to give our will and our heart to him. Well, why? Well, because he gave his son and his life for us, but also because he never makes mistakes.

You'll never go wrong by choosing to place your will under his. Our mind and our body, now we can give that to him. This body, this mind, I can give that to him. I I know it's not much to give, but but I can give it. He desires it.

He deserves it. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, you have of God, and you're not your own for you're bought with a price? Therefore, glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's. You know, your body became something of value when the Holy Spirit came to live inside of it. You are of great value to him, and you have great potential for him.

What however many days you have left, would would you give your mind, your body, in service to him? Or will we keep it selfishly only for our own pleasure and purpose? How sad that would be. What does Paul say in Romans twelve one two? We read it again.

Let's read it again. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable God, which is your reasonable service. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. If you give your mind and your heart, your body in his service, you will only prove as you see him lead in God. That his way is what?

His way is perfect. His way is good. When we refuse, we see our way isn't always so good. Bible says there's a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. God God's not gonna make those mistakes that we would make.

Do you discipline your mind? Do you keep it pure? Are you careful what it takes in and dwells upon? Do you keep control of your body, your tongue included? Do you take care of it and use it in his service?

First Corinthians nine twenty seven, Paul says, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest by any means when I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway. Paul says, I don't want to waste. I don't want my life to be a waste. I want it to count for something. I want it to count for him.

It's my turn to what? It's my turn to give. He gave and gives and will give again. The question is, am I going to give of myself to him? Our time, the Bible says, Ephesians five sixteen, redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Worship and pray? Will you give your time to get to know him and his word, to meditate upon it day and night, to serve God, to serve his people? Time is precious, but it's not just your time. It's his time. One day, when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, what will you have to show with the time that you were given?

Did you use your time and things that were just passing away? Did you use it for more eternal valuable things? No. I'm not just talking about coming to church or maybe some of that time needs to be spent in earning some money doing something you don't want to do to take care of those that God gave you and put made you responsible for. That's valuable use of your time and your money.

Maybe it's fixing somebody's car or pulling somebody's weeds. Maybe it's fixing their plumbing or maybe it's just sending them a card. Maybe it's being there with for your wife and your husband and just being what you can be, giving of your love to the one God gave you, all of that is part of all of that's part of things that are of eternal value when you invest yourself in your Lord and you love your neighbor as what? Yourself. Because this, all this stuff, this iPad, this iPhone, they're they're passing away.

But my kids, they're gonna live forever. And my spouse, he's gonna live forever. And your eternal souls, Let's use our time wisely. The things that make a difference in people's lives. And that may be as simple as fixing their car, painting their house, or watching their kids.

And then we can give our praise and thanksgiving and testimony. The testimony of our actions and the praise of our lips. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. We owe him that. We owe him the praise of our lips.

By him, therefore, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. You did not waste your time this morning by coming to church to sing praises to the one who has given you life. No. You have had the privilege and joy of returning just a little of all that he has given for us. It is worth your time.

And it is sad that so many others, even those who profess the name of Christ, have given up on giving of that time to the Lord. They are missing out, and they are messing up. What is it that we are celebrating this week? We are celebrating God's gift. And how can you best celebrate God's gift this week and every week?

In two ways. Number one, how do you celebrate a gift, first of all? You accept it. You accept it. Why did God give of his son?

So you would accept him. Why did God offer you eternal life? So you would accept it and forgiveness. It brings him great joy when you accept it. When we give gifts to our kids, when we watch him open them, and we see the smile on their face, does that not bring you joy?

It does. Does it not bring him joy? It does. That's the reason he sent his son. Accept his gift before it is eternally too late.

Accept his gift. Accept his forgiveness. Accept his love. Accept the sacrifice of his son. Accept eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Quit lying to yourself about it. Quit quit making excuses for not accepting the greatest gift that's ever been given and accept him as your Lord and savior. Number two, if you have accepted, then give of yourself in his service. Give of yourself in your love and and out of your heart and with your time and talent and your lips. Find opportunities this week and next week and this coming year to not just be the requester of things but to be the giver of things as well.

Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you, Lord, for the gift of your son. We thank you, Lord, that we can celebrate that today and every day. We pray, Lord, if there's one under the sound of my voice today that has not accepted Christ, we pray that they would see that they're a sinner who needs a savior, and God provided the remedy, the forgiveness, the way out, the way of salvation in Jesus Christ, his son, who gave his life for them and and died and rose again and who offers salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life if they will but receive him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Lord, I pray if there's one listening today that is yet to say, Lord, I'm a sinner. I know you died for me. I need you. Please save me and forgive my sins today and be my Lord. I pray that they would do that even now, even today, and come to know the gift and the giver of eternal life.

And I pray for us who know you that we would not that we would be challenged today and every day to see that it is our turn. And rather than spending every day asking what God can do for us, asking what we can do for him. And I hope that will change our life and change our perspective in the days to come as we meditate upon the opportunity that we have been given. In Jesus' name, we do pray. Amen.