Romans 12 13a is our text for today. This is the 77th message in a study through the New Testament Book of Romans, which, as you know, was written by a missionary. Please pray and ask the Lord whether or not he's calling you to the mission field. Today's message is 37 handwritten pages and the title of the message today is Share pro bono. Not sunny and share pro bono, just share pro bono. Please turn to Romans chapter 12. As you're turning, remember that God loves you in Christ. And I'm going to read, for purposes of context today, Romans chapter 12, verses 9 through 13, even though we are only looking at the first half of verse 13. Hear the word of the Lord. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Our Father in heaven, You give to us in abundance. Now, Lord, You are calling us to share, to contribute to the needs of the saints. Lord, I would pray that You would help us to understand what this means. Lord, I pray that You would give us the grace through the Holy Spirit to do it, and to do it joyfully. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Very simple outline today, only two points. Point number one, generosity in the gospel, and point number two, generosity in the church. We, in our study, are in a section of the book of Romans where Paul, the author, is giving practical instructions as to how church members are to love one another. These are short, terse, to-the-point commands which start in Romans 12.9 and they conclude in the verse that we are in today, Romans 12.13. And they all fall under the heading or title of Let Love Be Genuine. That is the heading or the title. And beneath that title lie 12 commands and today we're going to tackle number 11. Well, for starters, I think it would be helpful today to consider the cultural background into which this command was given. The first people in Rome to receive and to believe the gospel were Jews, or as it says in Romans 1.16, to the Jew first. And these Jews were having an impact upon the city of Rome, these Christian Jews. It was both positive and negative. It was positive in that the kingdom of God was being expanded. It was negative in that their fellow Jewish non-Christian citizens were upset and they expressed their disapproval about this new Christian cult. You see, what these non-Christian Jews wanted can be summed up in two words, tradition, tradition. And the unrest between the Christian Jews and the non-Christian Jews was viewed as a problem by the Caesar, who at the time was Claudius. Now Claudius takes over as the emperor in AD 41 after the death of his uncle Caligula, who was assassinated. And so what is happening here in the city of Rome is that the Roman emperor, Claudius, banishes all the Jews from the city. His thinking was this. He wants peace in the city, and he sees that these Jews cannot get along with one another. And these Christian Jews are upsetting the traditional Jews. So he deals with it by kicking all of the Jews, Christian and non-Christian, out of Rome. Now, some historical reports say that this happened as early as AD 41. Others say that it happened in AD 49. Maybe it's both. Maybe it happened in shifts. But whatever the case, When these Jews were forced to leave, they lost everything. You remember the final scene in Fiddler in the Roof, when the family is leaving the village of Anatevka, and as they are going down that dirt path, all they are carrying is what they can carry. That is everything. And likewise, these Jews who have left Rome, they leave with only the clothes on their back and what they can carry. They lose their jobs, they lose their home, they lose everything. And Luke records the names of two of these Roman Jewish church members who got booted out of Rome by Claudius. They are Priscilla and Aquila, Acts chapter 18 verses 1 and 2. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus. Pontus is in Turkey. recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. Why? Luke tells us because Claudius, that is the emperor, had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. So let's say this happened in about the year A.D. 49 or 50, and the book of Romans is written, give or take, about the year A.D. 58. Well, what happens in between there, in AD 53 or 54, Claudius says, OK, the Jews can come back, and the Jews were allowed to return to Rome. And in Romans 16.3, Paul, when he is writing this letter, just a few chapters from where we are here, sends greetings to a lot of the people in the church at Rome by name. And in 16.3, by name, he mentions Priscilla and Aquila, which means that they went back to Rome. Well, here's the rub. When these Christian Jews returned to Rome, they were in worse shape financially than when they left. Think of it in this way. The Dust Bowl in Oklahoma in the 1930s. When the Okies left Oklahoma, because nothing would grow because of the Dust Bowl, moving to California looking for a better life, well, they left with next to nothing, and when they came back, they were in worse shape. Now, here in Rome, what we have is these Jews coming back to Rome. They now, when they come back, are the minority in the church. The Gentiles now make up the majority. And probably, not only do the Gentiles make up the majority of the people, but the Gentiles are probably in much better shape financially. The reason they're in better shape financially is because they weren't kicked out of their homes and kicked off of their jobs. So that slice of history I think is pertinent for the command that we have in front of us today because the church is probably made up of the haves and the have-nots. Yes, it's true that love requires us to have a warm heart of brotherly affection and to use words of encouragement to honor one another, but Love also includes practical expressions of generosity and hospitality to those who are in need. So, with that brief setup, let's get right to work. Point number one, generosity in the gospel. Remember, our text says, contribute to the needs of the saints. I am always amazed, and I should not be amazed, by children who refuse to share a bite or a sip of a treat that they have received, a treat that an adult has purchased for them. And I'm not talking about the adult taking half of what was given to the child. I'm talking about just a few skittles, just a pinch of popcorn, just a sip of the soda. Why is it that kids, why is it that children are so tight-fisted and so territorial with treats which have been purchased for them? So you know the scene. You're standing in a supermarket and the enticement of the colorful Skittles package has caught the eye of the child. They make the request. Mommy, Daddy, will you buy this for me? And you say yes. And then they watch you. They watch you pay for it. You even have to open the bag for them because they don't have the manual dexterity to do this. And now you are on the ride home and you're looking in the rear view mirror and they are perched in their car seat and all you're asking for is just the crumbs from the table that even the little dogs eat. You say, hey, can I have a few of those? And the response will either be no or it will be yes with a complaint or has this ever happened to you? It happened to me times without number. they will give you one. They will give you one. Like you're feeding a bird, they will give you one. And what you want to do is you want to say, sweetheart, Do you understand that Daddy goes to work all week so that I can earn money? And then with that money, I provide everything that you own, including those Skittles. You were there when I bought them. You know that I paid for them. You, sweetheart, really should share. You should be thankful. You should be generous. You should have a different perspective. Yet as amazing and perplexing as the hoarding, miserly child may be, there's something that is more fascinating and is by far worse, and that is the stingy Christian. And here's why. First of all, because God has given us everything freely. James 1.17. Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. He has given us all things richly to enjoy. Acts 17.28. In Him we live and move and have our being. He gave us our retinas. He gave us our livers. He gave us our taste buds. He gave us our lungs, and then all of this air, this air that's around you, every bit of it is free. You don't pay for any of it. It just keeps coming to you in abundance for the entirety of your life. He gave us our brains to think and to reason. And if we were in a position where God would one day say, hey, you know what? I'm taking it all back and I'm taking it back right now. We wouldn't be dead because even our dead lifeless corpses are a free gift from Him. We would not exist at all. So I ask my child for some Skittles. They refuse. I pull the van over and I say, I've had it with you. Out of the car, you little brat. And I say a permanent farewell to the child, that thankless, oh, you're on your own. And so there you are along the side of the highway, you are a three-year-old, you've been kicked out of the car by your father. Guess what's going to happen? The child is going to survive. A policeman will find the child, they will be given to social services, they will be put in foster care, and they will outlive you. But if God, sitting in his minivan, looking in the rear view mirror at us, in our state of ingratitude, would say, you know what? You, everything I've given you, I'm taking it back. We would cease to exist. And the reason that is true is because every second of heart-beating life is a free gift from God, and it is a generous gift at that. I love my retinas, I love my lungs, I love the free oxygen that I get to use all the time. But these are not the kindest gifts of God. More importantly, what I treasure the most is that He has given me eternal life. Do you understand what He has done? He has washed away all of my sins permanently through the blood and death of His Son on the cross. All of my sins, past, present, and future. So if I were to give you the next five minutes and say, here's the exercise that you're going to do. I just want you to think about all of the sins that you've committed during the course of your life. Your life, that would be ridiculous. I'm going to give you five minutes. All you would be able to do in that time is to think of the sins which you've committed this week. And even in so doing, you would not have enough time to think of them all. Let alone the sins that you've committed in your life. But do you understand what God has done? He has taken all of our sins and He's cast them into the sea of forgetfulness through the blood of Jesus Christ. And He has granted us a perfect record of righteousness for free. That is more value than a liver or a central nervous system. And He has adopted you as His child. Not just that you get to come to the family, but you understand that when we are in Christ, God loves us as much as He loves His own Son. And then He gives His Spirit to actually live inside of us. He joins us to His Son. And he promises me that this will never be jeopardized and it will never be taken away. He's never pulling over the minivan and putting us on the side of the road. Romans 8, 35. I think when I preached it, I didn't understand it. I think I understand it better now. The verse that says that neither tribulation nor distress nor persecution nor famine nor nakedness nor danger nor sword, none of that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. At first, it seemed a little bit poetic. It seemed a little bit of a hyperbole. I don't think it's a hyperbole at all. It was written to people who were under persecution, people who had lost everything. And what Paul is telling them is, things are going to get rough, and they have been rough for you, but it doesn't matter how rough it gets for you. Nothing, including famine, is going to be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. I possess, and will forever possess, In Christ, every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 1, 3. I have redemption through His blood. I have been reconciled to God. We used to be major enemies. Now, through Christ, we are the best of friends. We are co-heirs with Christ. What He inherits, we inherit. And we have the Spirit as our helper, and we have our Father as our Father, Or as it says in Psalm 68-19 in the King James Version. And by the way, dear Christians, some verses need to remain in the King James Version because it just sounds better. And that is, blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. We are walking along through life. You know what God keeps doing? He keeps weighing us down with blessings to the point where we cannot carry them all. So you're sitting in that car seat in the back of God's minivan. He's looking at you in the rearview mirror. You know what you have sitting beside you? You have a 55-gallon drum filled with skittles. Gospel benefits, brothers and sisters, are bottomless. They are ridiculous. But they were not free. Every last one of them was paid for. Jesus went to work to earn each of them. For 33 years he worked on earth resisting temptation and obeying his father, not for himself, but he earned that record so that that record would be given to you. He worked in the Garden of Gethsemane in prayer knowing the wrath of God, knowing what was about to come upon him. And yet he prays, not my will, but thy will be done. And he prays to the point where he is sweating great drops of blood. There was work that went into your salvation. And then for six hours on the cross, He is tortured in his body. He bore in his body our sins upon the tree. And for six hours he works in that he is drowning in our filthiness. And for six hours on that cross, without any resistance being put up at all, like a lamb that's led to the slaughter, he doesn't even open his mouth, he just takes it. For six hours he allows himself to be pulverized by the unbridled wrath of God the Father in His furious wrath. It was paid for. We didn't sneak those skittles out of the store. They were paid for. And even today, he is working for you, every second of every day, for it is he, Jesus Christ, who is upholding the universe by the word of his power, and it is he, Jesus Christ, every minute of every day, always living as our great high priest, at the Father's right hand, ever living to make intercession for us. It wasn't free, it cost a lot, and Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Take your kid home, He gets out of the van. He's got his bag of Skittles. He goes to the playground. His friend says, oh, you got some Skittles there. Where'd you get them? Key food. How much? They were free. No, son, they weren't free. We had to pay for them. You have blessings, Christian? Where'd you get them? From God. How much? Free. Not free for him, free for us. And it wasn't a small handful of Skittles. It is eternal life. You know, if I want to buy myself a treat, first of all, it ain't going to be Skittles, but if I want to buy myself a treat, I do not need my child to share with me. I'm capable of turning the van around, walking into the store, and buying every treat that is there at the register, and I will not even feel it in my wallet. And likewise, God doesn't need your money. He doesn't need you when He tells you to give. It's not because He in any way is lacking. Psalm 50, 12. If I were hungry, I would not tell you. For the world and its fullness are mine. In other words, the world and everything in it. Now, I don't have time this morning, in fact, I don't even have time in one lifetime to explain to you all the generosity that has been extended to us in the gospel. But hopefully the brief sample that I've given you over the last several moments, minutes, has provided you with sufficient evidence to conclude, wow, God has been very generous to me in Christ. For God so loved the world, He gave. For God so loved the world he gave. For God so loved the world he gave. There is unfathomable generosity in the gospel, which brings us to point number two, generosity in the church. The God who freely gave you all those skittles now says to you in Romans 12, 13, contribute to the needs of the saints. Donald Gray Barnhouse, the former pastor of the 10th Presbyterian Church, who pastored there for 33 years in Philadelphia, wrote this, and I think it's a very, very clever quote. He said, under the Old Testament, a tithe, that is 1%, under the Old Testament, a tithe belonged to God. Under the New Testament, in the New Covenant, 10 tithes or 100% belonged to God, end quote. Do you understand what Barnhouse is saying? We as Christians are living in a new and a better covenant and what we give is not based upon a percentage. It all belongs to the Lord. Now I would say that tithing or giving 10% is not a bad start for a baby Christian. I think that this is especially good for children and for teenagers that want to give more. I think that that's fine. But I'm thankful that my parents, even when I was an unconverted child and an unconverted young teenager, that I was taught to tithe. I remember when I got my first dollar. It was in December of 1967. I was six years old. I, with that dollar, was to do all of my Christmas shopping, but I was not permitted to spend the entire dollar. My parents said, a dime of that belongs to Jesus. I'm very thankful that they did that for me. The reason I am thankful is I was accustomed to giving and the importance of giving. So when I got saved at the age of 16, it was not a shock to my system. Helping your children learn how to handle money and teaching them that giving is a part of handling their money is going to be good for them. So I would strongly urge you to teach your children the value of a dollar and teach them the benefit of giving. But back to Barnhouse. What Barnhouse is saying in the New Covenant is that tithing is not the goal. It's an okay starting point. The principle for the New Testament giver is this. Give whatever you want to give. How much should you give? I don't know. How much do you want to give? And what you give, you are to give joyfully. And what you want to give should be commensurate with what has been given to you in the gospel. Point number one, generosity in the gospel. 2 Corinthians 8-9. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. How much are you supposed to give? Give whatever you want. 2 Corinthians 9, 7. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart. Not reluctantly or under compulsion. You don't do it because you have to. This is not a duty. Not reluctantly or under compulsion. Why? For God loves a cheerful giver or God loves a hilarious giver. In other words, don't give because you have to. Give because you are happy to do it. And when the gospel is properly understood and at work in your heart, giving is a joy. And if it's not a joy, then I did not sufficiently preach point number one, and you did not sufficiently listen to point number one, generosity in the gospel. Where did you get those skittles? Where did you get your money? Well, I worked for it. All right. Well, where did you get the ability to work? The intellect, the skill, the strength, the opportunity. Deuteronomy 8.18 says this, You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth. You see, when our actual dependence is in the forefront of our mind, our dependence upon God, and when front and center in our mind is the gospel of Jesus Christ and His generosity toward us is in focus, there is only one natural response, and it's not giving. It is joyful giving. Hilarious giving. And notice in the text the manner in which it is to be distributed in Romans 12-13. It says, contribute, we're going to concentrate on that word contribute, contribute to the needs of the saints. Who is a saint? Well, anybody who is saved is a saint. I am Saint Edwin. If you have been saved for two weeks, you too are a saint. Just insert your name. If you are saved for 50 years, you are no more of a saint than the person who was saved 50 minutes ago. So when we talk about saints, we're talking about all Christians. Saint does not refer to those who have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. That is an unbiblical, nonsensical, demonic practice. But let's just say for the sake of argument that we got it wrong and that the Catholics got it right. even if they are accurate in their definition of a saint and they are not. But let's just say for the sake of argument that they are. How in the world are we supposed to contribute to the needs of Saint Anne or Saint Catherine or Saint Joseph They cannot use our money. I mean, maybe we can give money and we can make a statue of them that can be put up as an idol in the church, but there is no other way that we're going to be able to help them with their money. Contribute to the needs of the saints implies that the saints are alive. Romans 12.13 is referring to practical help for living believers. And the Greek word here for contribute carries with it the idea of fellowship. Maybe you have heard of the Greek word koinonia, or the concept of koinonia, which is the same root here, and it means get close to the need or literally have fellowship with the need. Now, this includes giving money, but it's more than just throwing cash at a need. Having fellowship or contributing means that you have a level of emotional investment in the need and or the person who has the need, that you have a vested interest in the need, fellowship with the need. During the week, every day, I check out gold prices. I see whether the arrow is going up or down. I do not do this because I have an interest in the economy. I don't know anything about economics. The reason that I look to see whether the arrow is going up or down is because I own a teeny, weeny, itsy bit of gold. I do not keep it in my house, so if you're robbing me, don't look for it. I own a tiny bit of gold and I want to see whether it's better or worse. I have a vested interest in it. I have fellowship with that. We need to have fellowship with the needs of others, be invested in that contribution. Also of note here, is that as Christians, our primary fellowship would be with fellow Christians, that is, the saints. Now, this doesn't mean that it is sinful or foolish to give to the Red Cross or the American Cancer Society or Tunnel to Towers or Habitat for Humanity. They very well might be doing noble humanitarian work. And I use the word might because I don't know the inner workings of all of those charities. But the point is, it's not wrong to practically assist humanitarian efforts. But the scriptural mandate is to first assist with fellow Christians, Galatians 6.10. So then, as you have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. In other words, the needs of the saints. During Paul's ministry, there was a devastating famine in Jerusalem. And as part of Paul's missionary work, yes, he was spreading the gospel, but what he was also doing in the churches is he was raising money to bring relief back to the Christians in Jerusalem. Paul did not have some sort of a humanitarian let's do it for the whole city of Jerusalem as a means of evangelism. He was raising money for the Christians in Jerusalem. In fact, in large part, that's why the book of 2 Corinthians was written. It was written to raise money for the famine relief of Christians in Jerusalem. If you turn here in the book of Romans over to chapter 15, you'll see in verses 25 and 26, this is exactly what Paul was doing. He says, at present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. So our aim should be primarily to do it for the people of God. They had need of practical help, and that's probably what Paul is writing about here, whether it's the offering in Jerusalem or whether it's the poor people that I explained to you earlier were the Jewish Christians who had been kicked out of Rome but were now back. And what is the mindset to be? Well, John the Baptist makes that really clear in Luke 3.11. Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none. Whoever who has food is to do likewise. North Shore Baptist Church, allow me to take a few moments now just to speak to you collectively. And in so doing, I, as your pastor of 33 years, want to applaud you. Because never once in a third of a century have you ever put together a flimsy love offering for a missionary or for a guest preacher for a special need. When needs are brought to your attention, you over-provide. At members' meetings, when money is requested for hurricane relief in North Carolina, or when a family is in need of practical help, you vote unanimously, enthusiastically, yes. There is a member of our church who comes to me every summer and says, I want to anonymously pay for a student to go to youth camp, a student who would not otherwise get to go. God bless you, North Shore Baptist Church. You are joyfully generous, and I am happy, happy, happy to be your pastor. You have helped sister churches and missionaries. You have helped those with medical and dental needs. You have helped pastors who have practical needs. And not every sermon that I preach needs to be a rebuke. Paul thanked the church at Philippi for entering into partnership, into koinonia, fellowship with him for his missionary support. Paul writes this of the church at Philippi, to the church at Philippi, Philippians 4, 14 and 15. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. You Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. I thank my God upon my every remembrance of you, North Shore Baptist Church. Collectively, you are to be commended. You are generous. You are not tight-fisted. You are eager to help. You, plural, embody Romans chapter 12, verse 13a. But what I'm going to do for the rest of the sermon as I'm going to try to give some encouragement to you individually as well and to challenge you individually as well. Let me lay out, first of all, a couple of caveats. These are very important caveats. The first one is this. The word needs needs to be defined and it has to mean needs. This is not a call to luxury. This is not a call to communism, where we all have to have the same things. You know that under the Soviet Union, the politics and the economics was communistic. Everybody's supposed to be the same. When I went to Belarus the first time in 2010, you sent me with some money to distribute to the saints there, and so I said to one of the members of the church, could you tell me which member of the church actually needs help the most? The guy said to me, he goes, well, you know, I can't really answer that question. We all basically have the same thing, which is the design of communism. Then he followed it by saying, and we all basically have nothing. So much for communism. This is not a call to communism. Rob Ventura in his commentary in the book of Romans very cleverly writes, as we experience this grace, that is the grace of giving, we are to generally think basic and not ballroom, crockpot and not caviar, end quote. In other words, needs need to be defined as needs and not luxuries. The second caveat is this, 2 Corinthians 3.10. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. Now I understand that there are some people who cannot work because they have physical limitations. There are others who cannot work because they have responsibilities to others in the home. But there are some who will not work because they are lazy or they will not work because they think that the job that they are being offered is beneath them. If someone is unwilling to work, do you understand that you are actually disobeying Scripture and you're actually hurting the person by giving to them? The reason you're hurting them is because they are disobeying the Word of God and not working. And you are hurting them in that you are providing them an opportunity to sin. Let's assume that the person has an actual need. Let's assume that they are able to work. I think if they do not, we ought not to help them. In fact, I know we ought not to help them. But let's assume that they are working and in their working they are not able to make ends meet. And God has given you a surplus. What are you to do? Well, in light of the gospel, we are to provide for them. Proverbs 3, 27 and 28. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, go and come again tomorrow, I will give it to you. give it when I have it with you. No, don't do that. Now I know that in the context, this probably is referring to hiring someone, but the same principle applies in giving and in hiring. If you have it, you are to give it. So, we need antennas that reach out where we are aware of needs and then we meet needs. I've been a recipient of this many times. I can remember when I began my work in ministry, On Monday, the 11th of June, 1984, at Peachtree Corners Baptist Church in Norcross, Georgia, I had just graduated from college two days earlier. Now at that time, I had more than five but less than $10 to my name. When I went into work that morning and the pastor said, let's go to lunch, and we went to Burger King, I was so happy he said, hey, this one's on me, because I would have spent everything that I owned to eat lunch that day. And I remember two days later when I walked into Wednesday night prayer meeting, Chuck Whelan walked over to me and handed me a $100 bill and he said, here, buy yourself some threads. Wow. I now had $105. I was the richest man on the planet. I was so encouraged by that. I needed that money. That was 41 years ago. I've never forgotten it. Fast forward to 1991. Anna is pregnant with Parker. I am working three jobs at the time. The most lucrative job that I have is a $5 an hour job renting apartments. And I get a call at my home from Gary Hedy. And Gary says, go out and look in the visor above your car. It was a 1976. Buick Skylark. I never locked the car. No one in their right mind would ever try to steal it. And above the visor, I look, and there is a $500 check. 34 years ago, that memory has not left me. You say, well, aren't you worried that maybe Gary is going to lose his reward? No, I'm not worried at all. Gary died a few years ago. He's already got his reward, so he's not at risk of losing that. The point is, I have been a recipient of blessings from others. I know how encouraging it can be. And so in light of what has been given to me, let me give you some practical instructions concerning giving. I have 10 points of application as we close today. Number one, Please know that when you give, now remember, we talked about that this is a fellowship, that we have a vested interest in what we're doing here, that when you give, you are not just giving money, but you are also giving encouragement. And the money that you give is going to be an encouragement. This past Monday, the elders were having breakfast together at a diner, And we were, I wouldn't say we were obnoxious, but we were loud. I mean, it was really clear that we were Christians. I mean, especially Cade. Cade is just like, he's full bore, full volume, talking about the Bible and God, and we prayed, and I'm wearing a hoodie that's got an advertisement for a Baptist church. Like, it's clearly, these guys are Christians, and there's not that many people there, and we are sharing with one another, And halfway through the meal, the owner of the restaurant comes up to us and he says, gentlemen, the lady who was sitting in the booth beside you actually paid for your breakfast this morning and she also paid for the tip. We had plenty of money to cover that. We did not need the money. But boy, oh boy, oh boy, did we need the encouragement. And we walked out of that restaurant that morning encouraged. You see, what you are giving in terms of love and thoughtfulness and compassion might actually be of greater value than the size of the check. So please know that as you are contributing to the needs of the saints, you have the capacity to do great good, both practically and in terms of morale. Conversely, If you're just throwing a check in someone's direction, and you're doing so with no joy, or you are accompanying that check with a lecture, well, it might get their con ed turned back on, it might put groceries on the table, but you might also have crushed their spirit. It's not just the money, it is the love, it is the encouragement which your giving can accomplish. Number two, Look, L-O-O-K, look, Sally, look, look for opportunities to bless people in practical ways. Do not sit back and wait, but have a functional antenna. Sometimes that requires you asking questions, going to people and asking, how are you doing? And If you give when you are asked to give, that is good, but it is better if you give before you are asked to give. And the only way that you can do that is to be looking for needs. Number three. Hey, there might be circumstances when the person should pay you back. Not every gift needs to be a gift that is not paid back. And one of those cases might be is if you need the money, but you just don't need it right now. So it is not a sin to loan money. It is a sin, Exodus 22, 25, It is a sin to charge high interest or interest to a brother or sister in Christ. But sometimes you just can't give it, but you can loan it. If you loan it to help a person through a rough stretch, that's okay. Just make very clear to both parties what the terms are because we as elders have had to settle matters between brothers and sisters when money was loaned and the terms were not clear. It's okay to loan money. Number four. There may be circumstances where you need to offer both money and financial counseling. See, sometimes the problem is not that the person has a lack of money, but the problem might be a mismanagement of money, poor stewardship, which has led to a lack of money. And if all you do is give this person money, you are just going to be in a position where you're going to have to give it to them again. The problem is not a lack of money. It's that they don't know how to handle the money that they have gotten. So they need Financial counseling and if the person is offended that you would suggest this well, then they are not ready to receive that money Why because those needs are going to be bottomless if they don't learn how to manage that money Hey, here's some money, but let's take a look at the books so that we don't have to do this again number five This one is very nuanced, and that is, as a family, work to meet urgent needs. Titus 3.14 says, and let our people learn. How do you learn? You learn through communication. Let our people learn to devote themselves to good works so as to help causes of urgent need and not to be unfruitful. How did I learn to be a giver? I learned by watching my parents and by listening to their instructions. You know, Anna and I have a very good marriage. We, in July, will be married 40 years. We do not always agree, and when we disagree, I have learned that she is always right, and I'm not trying to be funny in saying that. That is actually an accurate statement. But one thing which we have always agreed upon for the past 40 years is the joy of giving, especially when we are aware of a need. And so I'll become aware of a need and I'll say, hey Anna, so and so has such and such a situation. Can we help them out? And I can tell you that there have been a grand total of zero times over the past 40 years when she has said no. And I'll say, all right, what can we do? And it's crazy how great minds think alike that she will come up with a number and the number that she will come up with is actually either the same or very close to the number that I would have in my head. Side note, if I ever offer you practical assistance and what you are getting you feel is stingy, please know Anna's the one that came up with that number. I just want to say that this practice has been a source of joy, great joy, for us being on the same page. Now, I say I learned it from my parents. Primarily, I learned it from Christ. And I also learned it times without number when people were kind to me. But I am very serious about this. The sharing, the desire for sharing with your spouse, with your family, is one of the most delightful hobbies or privileges that a family can ever enjoy. Work to get on the same page and enjoy benevolence together. Number six, and closely related. It is more blessed to give than to receive. That's what the Lord Jesus said in Acts chapter 20 verse 35. And Jesus would know a lot about giving because no one ever gave as much as he did. It is a blessing to receive, but it is a greater joy to be the one that is giving. And I ask, do you know that joy? If you do not know that joy, then you are stealing, but the one that you are stealing from is yourself. You are robbing yourself of the joy. When you are a tight-fisted, stingy, miserly Christian, first of all, you are a walking contradiction, but you are also hurting yourself because it is more blessed to give than to receive. So I'm thankful that my parents modeled it for me. I can testify that it is a delight and those of you who are givers, you know what I'm talking about. Number seven. If possible, in many cases, you should give in secret. Sometimes it is impossible. And I would say one of those cases would be is when you give to the church, there is nothing wrong with you writing a check or having the trustees have a record of how much you have given so that you can get a record of that for the upcoming tax year so as to get a tax deduction. That is not wrong. In fact, that is wise. You should do that. What I'm talking about giving in secret here is don't blow your own horn. Matthew chapter 6 verse 3. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Now what does your left hand have in common with your right hand? It has you in common. So Jesus is not only saying here, Don't blow your own horn, because in the previous verse, chapter 6, verse 2, he says, when the hypocrites do that, they've already gotten their reward. It's not just saying, don't tell others that you're doing it. It's also saying, don't tell yourself that you're doing it. Don't have a praise and worship service for yourself when you have given. Just give and move on. And this is important, first of all, to guard you from pride, but it's also important because God gets all the glory when you give in secret. The man walks up to me in 1991. We've already spent Gary Huddy's $500. He walks up to me in the spring of 1991, and in church he hands me six $20 bills on a Sunday night. That is $120. And I asked him, Who gave this? He said, the giver wants to remain anonymous. When he told me that the giver wanted to remain anonymous, I was forced to do what? I was forced to give all the glory to God because I had no idea where the money came from. If you are able to give secretly, that is something that you should try to practice. but don't blow your own horn. Number eight, every saint, without exception, is to participate in giving. If you are poor, you've been listening to this sermon, and you've just been saying, wow, this is the greatest sermon that I have ever heard. People in the church know I'm hurting, and now if they are under conviction in any way, they're going to come to me, and they're going to start to give me money. Ah, not so fast. If you are poor, this sermon also applies to you. You are also called upon to give. There are no exceptions. Consider Richard Wurmbrand. He was a Christian from Romania. He was imprisoned by the Soviets under the communist regime. He was in prison from 1948 to 1956. He was released and then he was imprisoned again from 1959 until 1964 and three of those years he was in absolute solitary confinement. What he would receive to eat for much of that time was one slice of bread per week. Wurmbrand writes, We, speaking of he and his fellow believers, we decided we would faithfully tithe even that. Every tenth week, we took our slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our tithe to the master. You're hurting, but you ain't hurting like that. This man, getting one slice of bread a week, was giving to the Lord. It does not matter how poor you may be. Everyone is to give. Now, the rich have a greater responsibility. To whom much is given, much is required. But everyone is called to give. Two final points. Number nine. All giving to the saints, all contribution, all fellowship with the saints in helping in practical ways, ultimately is just giving to Jesus. You remember in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. When the master gathers the sheep and the goats, and he says to the sheep, I was hungry, and you gave me food. And they say, well, Lord, when were you ever hungry? And Jesus says in Matthew 25, 40, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. When you are being kind to a Christian, you are being kind to Christ. And so if you can keep Jesus in front of you as your sacrifice, his gospel, his person, his giving, well then your giving is going to be a joy and it's going to be a delight knowing that when you are giving to them, you are giving to him. Not as a means of earning your salvation, but as a response to what he has done for you. And finally, number 10, Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10, 8. You received without paying. Give without paying. You walked into the supermarket with no money in your pocket. You walked out with a bag of Skittles. The child who refuses to share the Skittles is rude and selfish, thankless and immature. The Christian who does not make giving a regular, joyful, generous practice is worse. You see, He has freely given to us. How can we clutch our skittles and say, If that's you, I don't think you really need financial counseling. I think you need a fresh look at Christ. Or maybe you need to be saved to begin with. And if you don't know what it means to be saved, please come and speak to me and I will privately share with you at length what it means to be saved. But whatever the case may be, the reason you should and must contribute to the needs of the saints is because your need was completely erased by Christ at the cross. Therefore, freely give. All right, 327 and one half down, 105 and one half to go, which means what? We indeed are getting there. Father in heaven, we gather here today as happy people because you have loaded us down with benefits, gospel and otherwise. And so Lord, we want to say thank you. Lord, we want to say thank you with our words, but Lord, we also want to say thank you with our lives. Enable us, Lord, to say thank you with our lives by being generous givers. For the glory of God, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.