February 17, 2013 – Pastor Tim – “Give It Back” – Click to download
Genesis 12:7-8 (NLT), “Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.”
How do you say thank you for the gifts God has given you? Give them back. If you can sing—sing for God. If you paint—paint a portrait for God. If you can play basketball—give a little jump shot for Jesus. Colossians 3:23, And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-15, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”
[Ray Lewis Super Bowl example.]
- Worship is giving to God the best that He has given each of us.
- Be careful what you do with the best you have. (Make sure God is getting the glory!!
- Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a gift of love. 1 John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.”
- Every action in our lives should be a re-action of what God is doing in us. Definition of reaction—action in response to some influence. Nor that we pull away, but a reaction that causes us to move into unity with. Ephesians 5:1-2, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” If we hoard things for ourselves, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, just like the manna did when the Israelites tried to hoard it or take more than they needed for that day.
Exodus 16:4 (NLT), “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.”
Exodus 16:19-20 (NLT), “Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” 20 But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.”
God will never let us hold spiritual things for ourselves; they have to be given back to Him that He may make them a blessing to others. Jesus said in Matthew 10:8, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul told Timothy, “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Thank God for your gifts. Thank Him for those things that make you uniquely you—even those things that nobody else knows about you. People are always looking for the formula for life; here is one for us:
- Take the blessing, say thank you.
- Give it back.
- Repeat
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