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A Generous Heart
Luke 20:45 - 21:4
For VBS at
Double Springs Church of Christ June 2007
I can still remember the first time I saw one. My family was on the way
to see my Grandparents who lived in Mississippi, and at the time we
lived in San Francisco. So even though we were excited to go and see our
family it meant three days in the car. And when the only thing you have
to occupy your time for three days in a car is an older brother you
quickly look for other forms of amusement.
We had made it into Texas and out the front and all sides of the car all
we could see was flat Texas until we saw sky. There were no trees, no
mountains, no hills just flat, except for the oil pumps that dotted the
landscape and the occasional windmill.
Then on the horizon I saw what looked like a small building, and the
closer we got the larger this building got, until it was the largest
building I had ever seen. It looked like something that you would see in
Star Wars not out in Texas.
I piped up, "'What's that?"
"'It's a refinery” my Dad answered. My brother said well duh!
It was a jungle of pipes and tanks and tubes and gener¬ators-heaters,
pumps, pipes, filters, valves, hoses, conduits, switches, circuits. It
looked like a giant Tinker- Toy set.
The function of that maze of machinery is defined by its name: It
refines. Gasoline, oil, chemicals-the refinery takes whatever comes in
and purifies it so that it's ready to go out. The refinery does for
petroleum and other prod¬ucts what your "heart” should do for you. It
takes out the bad and utilizes the good.
We tend to talk about the heart as the beginnings of emotion. We speak
of “heartthrobs" "'heartaches" and "'broken hearts.”
But when Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart" he was speaking in
a different context. To Jesus' listen¬ers, the heart was the totality of
the inner person, the control tower and the cockpit all in one. The
heart was thought of as the seat of the character, the origin of
desires, affec¬tions, perceptions, thoughts, reasoning, imagination,
conscience, intentions, purpose, will, and faith.
That’s why Solomon wrote “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is
the wellspring of life,”
To the Hebrew mind, the heart is a freeway clover¬leaf where all
emotions and prejudices and wisdom converge. It is a switch house that
receives freight cars loaded with moods, ideas, emotions, and
convictions and puts them on the right track.
And just as a low-grade oil or alloyed gasoline would cause you to
question the performance of a refinery, evil acts and impure thoughts
cause us to ques¬tion the condition of our hearts.
Someone read for us what Jesus says in Matthew 15: 18-19
Someone else read Luke 6:45
These verses hammer home the same truth: The heart is the center of the
spiritual life. If the fruit of a tree is bad, you don't try to fix the
fruit; you treat the roots. And if a person's actions are evil, it's not
enough to change habits; you have to go deeper. You have to go to the
heart of the problem, which is the problem of the heart.
That is why the state of the heart is so critical.
What's the state of yours?
When someone barks at you, do you bark back or bite your tongue? That
depends on the state of your heart.
When your schedule is too tight or your to-do list too long, do you lose
your cool or keep it? That depends on the state of your heart.
When you are offered a morsel of gossip mari¬nated in slander, do you
turn it down or pass it on? That depends on the state of your heart.
When you are in Birmingham and you see a homeless man on the street, do
you think that they are a burden or an opportunity for God? That, too,
depends on the state of your heart.
The state of your heart dictates whether you har¬bor a grudge or give
grace, seek self-pity or seek Christ, drink human misery or taste God's
mercy.
No wonder, then that Solomon writes in Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else,
guard your heart."
And His dad David's prayer was: “Create in me a pure heart, O God.”
And Jesus' statement rings true: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God,"
But I want you to look at the order of this beatitude: first, purify the
heart, and then you will see God. Clean the refinery and the result will
be a pure product.
We usually reverse the order. We try to change the inside by altering
the outside. Let me give you an example. One of my favorite shows is
called “The Kids In The Hall.” A comedy troupe from Canada that had a
show for 5 years or so.
In one skit a man and his wife get the car but it won’t start. So the
guy gets out of the car and puts air in the tires and tells his wife
“Try it now.” She tries but it won’t crank.
So the guy cleans the windshield and says “Try it now.” She tries but it
won’t crank.
Then he washes the car and says “Try it now.” She tries but it won’t
crank.
So then the guy takes a can of spray paint and repaints the whole car
and says “Try it now.” She tries and it finally cranks.
IT was so funny because we ask the question “Who would concentrate on
the outside when the problem is on the inside? “
Do you really want to know?
A girl at your school battles with depression. So her friends take her
to the mall to do a little shopping.
A guy is sleeping with his girlfriend and begins to feel guilty about
it. The solution? Hang out with people who don't make you feel guilty!
Someone is feeling isolated and alone, so they change their style. Get a
new haircut. Flash some cash.
Case after case of treating the outside while ignoring the
inside-polishing the case while ignor¬ing the interior. And what is the
result?
The girl gets a new dress, and the depres¬sion disappears ... for a day,
maybe. Then the shadow returns.
The guy finds a bunch of buddies who ignore his behavior. The result?
Peace ... until the crowd is gone. Then the guilt is back.
The teenager gets a new look and the people notice ... until the styles
change. Then they have to scurry out and buy more stuff so they won't
appear outdated.
The exterior polished; the interior corroding. The outside altered; the
inside faltering. One thing is clear: Cosmetic changes are only skin
deep.
By now you could write the message of the beati¬tude. It's a clear one:
You change your life by changing your heart.
That’s why what happens here in our text for tonight is so powerful. I
have a mentor, and he says Giving is an outside sign of what’s going on,
on your inside. How much of your time, talent, and treasure you are
willing to give back to God says an awful lot about how your spiritual
life is.
When I was your age we used to go to camp and to retreats every summer
and winter. I loved going because it was a lot of fun, but also because
I always felt renewed, like I had learned so much and was closer to God
than I had ever been. I was on a spiritual high after each time at camp
or at a retreat. But soon after I got home the burden of being back at
school and around friends who didn’t really want a relationship with
God, and homework and sports, and all that other stuff that takes up
such a big chunk of our lives, started to wear away at this new
commitment that I had found while at camp. And usually I started to
think, what does it matter if I keep the commitments I’ve made…I’m just
a kid. I’ll worry about that stuff when I’m older and it’s easier. Well,
guess what I was wrong for two reasons.
First I’m older now, and it’s not any easier. I still struggle to keep
my commitments and to stay close to God.
And Secondly, being young had nothing to do with my ability to be
effective for God’s kingdom.
There are always going to be people that might try to make you feel that
because you’re young or small or whatever that you don’t have much to
contribute, but you do. We serve a powerful God and He can use us in
spite of our youth, or our smallness, or our feeling like we don’t have
any gifts, or our brokenness. In fact, the bible is full of stories
about God using a person with tons of flaws.
You’ve heard of Moses, he had murdered someone and he had a stuttering
problem. But God used him.
Jonah? He was the most reluctant servant ever; he even tried to run away
from God. And once God did use him he pouted about it. I could go on and
on with stories of women and men who God used even though they certainly
weren’t likely, or “qualified”. God wants a willing heart.
Let’s read and see what I mean. (Read Luke 21:1-4)
If you could have a million dollars or one dollar, which would you take?
The million, for sure. But Jesus here, says that the widows tiny gift is
worth much more than the loads of money that the rich were giving. Why
do you think that is?
Because her gift, though it was small, was all that she had, and she
gave it out of love. I have a tendency to think that I have to do big
things in order to please God. But maybe what God wants from me is that
I’m nicer to people that I don’t usually talk to, or that I pick up a
piece of trash in order to take care of His creation.
I was blessed to work with a great group of young people in Nashville
for a few years. And I always told the kids in the youth group that the
needed to keep their eyes open for a place to serve. See, lots of times
we wait for a retreat or a mission trip to serve God or get close to
God, but what God wants faithfulness is in the everyday things. God
gives us so many opportunities to share His love with other people, and
all it takes is what we have.
Check out Romans 12:1-2
We talk about going to church to worship, but here it says that God
wants us to give Him our lives as Holy and living sacrifices and that is
our worship.
So as we close I want you to do something for me.
Gather enough pennies for half of your students to have one. Have group
members form pairs and give each pair a penny.
When something is all you have, it suddenly becomes bigger, more
valuable, and more important. If all you have in life is one penny,
giving it away can be difficult. That’s what God desires of us-not
dollars or pennies, but all we have.
Have each person holding a penny complete this sentence for his or her
partner: "I see that you have (name a positive quality). Use this
valuable quality for God."
For example, someone might say, "I see that you have patience. Use this
valuable quality for God." Someone else might say, "I see that you have
the ability to make others laugh. Use this valuable quality for God."
Then have those who spoke give their pennies to their partners. Have all
those with pennies find new partners to affirm. Continue until everyone
has been affirmed several times.
Close in prayer, thanking God for the value of each youth group member
and asking that each one will give what he or she has to God.
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