Pastor Edgar Mayer; Living Grace Community Lutheran Church; Message on Giving; Date: 11 November 07

For more sermons and other writings check out pastor’s homepage: http://www.geocities.com/mayeredgar

There Will Always Be Enough

This sermon is a message on giving and – while this is never an easy topic – I do feel a little guilty because it may have been as much as two years since I preached on this topic last. Earlier in the year our chairman Peter Rudolph gave leadership in this matter.

He preached and cited a surprising statistic. He shared that Jesus spent 15% of his teaching on money and possessions which means that Jesus would have preached on giving once every two months.

A few weeks ago we watched a video clip from Heidi Baker and today we will watch it again from a different angle to get a fresh perspective on giving.

Video clip from the DVD: Mama Heidi. The Inspiring Story Of Heidi & Rolland Baker, From 25:25 minutes – 29:30 minutes.

Jesus said: “I died that there would always be enough.” Yet, Heidi – sick with pneumonia, tired and exhausted to the bone, … – she knew that there wasn’t enough. There wasn’t enough of her and of her strength and of her money to keep feeding and caring for 320 homeless children that all called her “Mama”. What was God thinking? There wasn’t enough for the 320 – let alone enough for the thousands more and tens of thousand more which in the vision rushed toward Heidi – so many homeless children – which God expected Heidi to take in. She cried out: “No, no, there are too many. I cannot do this any more.”

You and I – we may feel the same way. Our commitment level may not be as radical as Heidi’s but we also have the feeling that there is not enough to do much more. What more does God expect of us? Haven’t we been generous? Our budgets only stretch that far. There are children to be put through school, mortgages to pay off, car repayments, saving plans for retirement, hec fees, … If we already tithe – that is: if we already give 10% of our income according to a common Christian guideline – then haven’t we already reached the utmost amount that can possible be expected from us?

Yet, Heidi saw the eyes of Jesus and they wrecked her. They were so full of love and they lent power to his words: “I died that there would always be enough.” How could she have resisted those eyes and how can we resist those eyes if we ever see them? In a way that’s not fair of Jesus … Have you ever had an experience where Jesus met you with liquid love – pouring out his compassion on you?

In the video Heidi did not give a full account of her vision. Let me fill in what she left out. She said that she saw the body of Jesus broken. According to her it was awful. It was disgusting. It was all ripped and broken – a crucified body. Jesus handed some of his broken body to her and – as horrible as that was – it became bread in her hand. Then he said: “Give them – the thousands of children – give them something to eat.”

This is at the heart of the Christian message and somewhat difficult. Most of us know – at least on a certain level – that Jesus had his body broken on a cross for the salvation of the world but the depth of this sacrifice in its awfulness and disgusting tearing of flesh may not have overwhelmed us yet and we may not yet understand that the sacrifice of Jesus is really enough for everything – peace with God and love on earth, eternal life and daily bread. The Bible says – 2 Peter 1:3: “The divine power of Jesus has given us everything we need for life and godliness … “

In the vision Jesus challenged Heidi to trust him with feeding the children – and feeding even more children – and Jesus invited Heidi – with love in his eyes – to expect from him that the body that was nailed to the cross and broken on a cross for a broken world would be enough of a sacrifice to overcome all evil, all scarcity, all adversity, all hunger.

Jesus wants all of us to trust him with everything. There will be enough from him. Before anyone misunderstand – this is not to say that we are not meant to be wise in budgeting and administering God’s provisions but – and I don’t know how to soften the blow – Heidi was asked to rely on more than that. Heidi was asked to go beyond budgeting and trust the supernatural provisions of God which would be miraculously, abundantly enough for tens of thousand of children. From that day on she never said “no” to a single child.

Can we do the same? Can we pool what we have, begin to live by faith, look at what Jesus puts before us and never say “no” to a single person in need? Can we never say “no”? I have to say that I don’t like preaching this. The ramifications are too challenging – for me. I can live with tithing. “God, you want 10% of my income: okay.” I can live with that. At least I have 90% of my money left in my pocket to spend on myself and do with it what I want. However, now I have the feeling that the days of spending 90% of my income on myself are over when we as a church begin to never say “no” to a single person in need.

Something else happened in the vision which Heidi received. Jesus showed her a poor man’s cup. It was wooden. It wasn’t jewels and beautiful. And he held it to his right side and blood and water poured into it. He said: “Give it to all the children.” And as Heidi did, they all drank. Thousands and tens of thousands. Jesus told Heidi that it was suffering and joy. He said that she had to drink too … suffering and joy.

Jesus said that there would always be enough and that there will be joy but – and this is somewhat sobering – there will also be suffering. The message this morning cannot be: “Be generous, never say ‘no’ to a person in need and then you will lead a happy-go-lucky life in God – untroubled and placid.” No – the Christian reality is different. There will be suffering also – as there was for Jesus himself.

After Heidi had enjoyed the vision in a Toronto church, all hell broke loose at home. Heidi was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and others in her family had malaria. The Marxist government repossessed all their ministry buildings. The church that was supporting them the most withdrew all of their funds. Children were beaten and had rocks thrown at their heads. 320 of them and the Bakers had no bed, no food and only one toilet between them.

Yet, Jesus said that there would always be enough and there was enough. At one low point Jesus multiplied a little bowl of cornmeal to feed them all and he even multiplied the plastic dishes. Supernatural provisions! There was enough and therefore there was joy but there was also suffering. It wasn’t easy and it still isn’t easy even though in the meantime they have planted six thousand churches in only five years.

This is what Heidi wrote only two weeks ago. I quote from her letter: “We are posting this special request … with the hope for stronger prayer covering. We have faced intense spiritual warfare, some of the most difficult months of our lives, and severe physical attacks … I feel like a weight lifter who has built up muscles over the years from past trials, so I am able to face greater challenges … “

The current news is that Heidi’s husband, Rolland, is very sick, lost 40 pounds, and has heart troubles. There have been car and motor-bike accidents among key staff, emergency medical flights to South Africa, broken feet, face split open and stitches for Heidi, a tipped over construction truck, … a long list.

Is that what we want for us here at Living Grace? Is that what you want for your own life? There could be some sort of attraction in never saying “no” to anyone in need because God may do some amazing stuff even here among us – supernatural provisions are an experience – but on the other hand do we want intense spiritual warfare? Do we want to build up muscles in the discipline of past trials so that we can face the new ones round the corner?

The death of Jesus guaranteed victory over the devil. The Bible says – Colossians 1:13: “[God the Father] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness … “ Colossians 2:15: “ … having disarmed the power and authorities [of the demonic realm], Jesus made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” But – nevertheless – this side of eternity we are not completely free of Satan’s attacks. The Bible also says – Ephesians 6:11-12: “ … take your stand against the devil’s schemes. . our struggle is … against … the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil … “

As we engage in feeding a hungry world with the broken body of Jesus – for bread and for life eternal – there is an enemy who wants people to remain famished and starving – physically and spiritually. We are up against the devil himself if we provide food to those that are caught in his darkness. We are not simply handing out bread to the hungry. We fight a war against the evil one and this is the Christian life. The Bible says – 1 Timothy 6:12: “Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life … “

Therefore, let’s not be surprised when we need to exercise spiritual muscles and make a stand with suffering and perseverance against the onslaught of the demonic. The devil may attack our health, may attack our sources of income, may attack our minds with doubts and discouragement, but that is to be expected. When we resolve never to say “no” to a person in need – trust the provision of bread from the broken body of Jesus – for tens of thousands – then life is going to be a fight until Jesus comes in glory to judge the living and the dead.

However, we will win. At one time God showed Heidi that they would plant hundreds of churches. She laughed hysterically. It had taken them seventeen years to plant four churches. How could Jesus plant so many through them since they were just picking up dying children from the streets? So Heidi asked Jesus for a strategy while she was lying prostrate on her face in a church. Jesus said to give the first-fruits. This dorm that she had finally built. She was to give it to the pastors. She said: “I can’t do that. I built it for the orphans. What will people say?” However, she gave the building to be a Bible School. It was a small group of pastors, maybe twelve or fourteen but the fire of God fell on them.

And now I quote Heidi directly. She writes: “These pastors went out the next week, found dead people, and raised them from the dead in Jesus’ name. It brought incredible revival. It brought a whole village to the Lord … In one little church of about fifteen, the Lord told me to call everybody up who had demons. The power of God fell in front of an angry, Muslim crowd. They were pinned to the ground and set free in front of this mocking, angry crowd. The crowd then knelt in the dirt and received Jesus as their Saviour. We now have ten churches in that province. Just like that because of the power of God … “

Jesus died that there would always be enough but what caught my attention was that the strategy for multiplication – stunning supernatural multiplication – not just addition – multiplication – was giving away the first-fruits – the first that Heidi had managed to pull together – the first building for the orphans. How hard that must have been for her! However, this is an old principle and we find it in the Bible –for instance in Exodus 23:19: “Bring the best of your firstfruits of your soil to … the Lord … “ I have to admit that I wouldn’t have expected this principle to apply even in the dire circumstances of Heidi’s orphans. They cannot afford to give anything away. Yet, Jesus has a different view and a different strategy. He is serious about a giving attitude – never saying “no”. “Heidi, give away the dorm and you will have hundreds of churches.”

Can we get our heads around that concept? Do we give away from our firstfruits? Do we give away from what comes in first and do we give away the best of that? And then, do we expect our gifts to be strategic and multiply the kingdom of God?

I close with a two more quotes from Heidi Baker: “Just focus on his face. You will only make it to the end if you can focus on his face. Focus on his beautiful face. You can’t feed the poor, you can’t go to the street, you can’t see anything happen unless you see his face. One glance of his eyes, and we have all it takes to lie down. We are not afraid to die. We give our offerings, but our offering is going to have to be us. We have to say, ‘Go ahead. Take me. Take everything.’ The deal is, you have to see his face. You have to be so completely wrecked by his love, so that you will hilariously give your life away. You start to love the people you didn’t think you could ever love, even the mean ones. But you have to see his face.”

“We are the sacrifices He ignites with His love, and His presence just falls. He just comes. He is looking for people who will carry His glory. He really, really is. But you have to be dead in order to carry it. And when you carry the glory, you will carry it out to the poor, and to the broken, the dying and the lost. You will. That's the call. That's the heartbeat of Jesus, that we carry Him out to the broken. But you can't carry Him until you've seen His face. You have to know that holy place.

You go from the place where you say, ‘Oh, God. I'll write a check, but just don't make me go to Africa. Please, oh God, don't make me sit in the dump. I'll love to write a check. Here it is. It's a lot. Just don't make me go there. I don't like bugs’ to where you just say, ‘Oh, God, here I am. Take me anywhere. Take me, use me, break me, bruise me if need be, pour me out, fill me up, here I am. I'm an offering. I'm it. I'm the offering. Take me. Pick me up with Your glory, and let me be a carrier of Your presence into the darkness. I know You love me, God, because I've seen Your face.’”

This morning – if you haven’t yet seen the face of Jesus – his loving eyes – grace for you – then please feel free to put this on the back-burner – everything that’s been said so far about about giving away bread and money and ourselves. Heidi speaks about something radical that is only possible if it is motivated and sustained by the love of God. The Bible says in similar fashion – Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ [died to all worldly ambitions and sin] and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me [and he never says “no” to anybody]. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” “Who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Jesus died that there would always be enough. Test him in this. Test him in this as a church and never say “no” to anyone in need. Give and feed a hungry world. Who knows this may be God’s strategy of multiplication even for us. Amen.