The ABCs of Giving continue today with the third letter of the alphabet, "C" which stands for "Consecration."  Consecration comes from two Greek words that mean "to set apart as holy", and it has several meanings:  1) Consecration can mean a solemn commitment of one's life or time to serving God, such as the consecration of pastor, teacher or other worker.  It can also mean, 2) To dedicate an object for a godly purpose, such as consecrating a church building or an altar for use to the Lord.  A third use of this word is, 3) To set apart a thing or person for divine service to God, such the consecration of bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion.  That kind of consecration may also apply to people.  If we consecrate ourselves to God, as today's text asks, then we are set apart for His special purposes.

          Today and the last two weeks we have been reading our Old Testament lessons from 1 Chronicles 28, and we will continue next week reading from 1 Chronicles 29.  This all leads us up to Commitment Days on November 11 and 12.  You soon will see in your mailboxes a large white envelope from Epiphany containing a manual with plans, letters and details about "Building Followers of Christ."  BFC is a stewardship emphasis, a program in which we are urging and encouraging everyone to make a sacrificial gift over a three year period to help increase needed space here.  Please read this booklet fully and carefully. It also includes a Commitment Card to be completed and returned on Commitment Days, November 11 and 12.

          In these days, I do hope and pray you have grown somewhat in your understanding of what a steward is, that he or she is a caretaker of some one else's property.  A renter is a steward, and so is an office worker, or a flight attendant or anyone who has control or use of property belonging to another person.  We human beings are stewards over the entire world, and the Bible says, "It is required of a steward that he be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2)   God has given each of us certain things to use wisely:  property, money, relationships, time, our bodies and even the church.  What we do with these things God has given us will determine if we are good stewards or not.

          In Matthew 25, Jesus told the parable of the talents.  A man went on a long journey, but first gave to each of his three servants a portion of his money, with instructions to use and invest it wisely.  When he returned he wanted to see what they did with it.  One received $500, another $200 and another $100.  While the master was gone, the first man invested his $500 and earned $500 more.  The second invested his $200 and earned $200 more. The last fellow, however, buried his $100 because he was lazy and suspicious of his master and wanted nothing to do with his master's property.  The master complimented the first two, but was angry with the third.  At least he could have gotten interest on it, but he did nothing.  In other words, he wasted the opportunity with what he was given.  In the end, what he had was taken away.

          This story shows us the expectation God has with what we are given.  That story is not a commentary on financial cleverness, but on our willingness to realize God is the Giver and we must use His gifts wisely.  We receive what we have only for awhile, and then it all goes somewhere else.  There are no safe deposit boxes in caskets.  There's no heavenly wire transfer service when we die.  We leave it all behind.  Therefore, what we do with all we have while we're still alive is a test of our faith, as well as our ingenuity.

          In today's Bible text, King David is getting the people ready for their Commitment Sunday.  He said the temple was going to be built, not tomorrow or this week, but in God's own time.  It is their duty now, he says, to begin thinking of how they will respond, how much they will give.  In next week's lesson we will hear David tell everyone what he will give.  Actually, it is how much he will consecrate for the Lord's purpose of building the temple.  And it is a tremendous amount.

          Yes, David was king and was wealthy.  But he isn't stingy.  He has a lot so he gives a lot.  He measures his gift, not in shekels, but in pounds of silver and gold.  It's like giving buckets of cash, and he does it as an example for the people to follow.  Not that they must give as much as he does, but that they see his gift and give sacrificially as he does.

          David didn't give leftovers, he gave firstfruits.  He gave out of what he needed, and He trusted God would replace it with more.  Like that man I spoke of last week who said, "As I shovel it out, God shovels it back, and God always has a bigger shovel."  And God blessed David's example of giving, because the people, from the most wealthy leader to the youngest wage earner, gave abundantly, generously, and the temple when built was all paid for.  Would that we could do as much!

          Giving sacrificially requires consecration.  As David told the people what he was giving, he said, "Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?"  Who is willing to set apart his life and goods for God's purposes?  Who is willing to acknowledge all he or she has comes from God?  And thus, who is willing to entrust God with a goodly portion, so that the Lord's temple could be built?

          The ABCs of Giving include consecration, of goods and of lives.  And it really begins with giving our self to God first.  On February 1, 1850, a few days after giving his life to the Lord, Charles Spurgeon wrote a prayer of personal consecration to God: "O great and unsearchable God," he wrote, "who knows my heart and tries all my ways, with a humble dependence upon the support of Your Holy Spirit, I yield up myself to You.  As Your own reasonable sacrifice, I return to You Your own.  I desire to be forever, unreservedly, and perpetually Yours.  While I am on earth, I wish to serve You, and may I enjoy You and praise You forever!  Amen."  Spurgeon consecrated himself to God, setting himself apart for God's purposes, and became England's greatest preacher and Christian author.  It was the best gift he could give his Lord, and God richly blessed Spurgeon with lifelong service and a great faith.

          In today's New Testament lesson, St. Paul speaks of a small Macedonian church.  At the time of his writing, there was a famine in Jerusalem, and Christians there were starving.  Paul, on his own volition, decided to organize a relief effort.  For nearly a year, he took up collections from Christians wherever he went, to give to the Jerusalem people in need.  And Paul was struck with the generosity of a small Macedonian group.

          We don't know how much they gave, but Paul said it was far beyond their means.  Thus, St. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8, "For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.  And they did not do as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will."

          The Macedonians gave great gifts because first they gave themselves to the Lord, and then to the funding appeal.  All gifts begin with giving ourselves to God.  It's all from Him.  That's consecration.  There's not a worthwhile gift that doesn't begin with giving of self to God.

          It's not going to be easy.  Some will say they have given before and choose not to give this time.  Others may say they have little to give.  But all can give a little something.  There is not one among us, adult or youth, who is so poor that they have no coins or dollars to give to God.  If most of us gave what we spend on coffee breaks each week, we'd probably overflow the baskets.

          To you who are visitors today, what you are hearing from this pulpit is the exception.  Epiphany is not a church that begs for funds.  Some churches do this all the time.  But today we have a challenge before us.  We have inadequate rooms to teach our children.  Our Worship Center is small enough to require three services.  This isn't an appeal to enrich somebody.  This isn't a "name it and claim it" church, nor a place where you're promised riches if you give to God.  This is a church in need of providing space for God's people.  The little ranch house is too small, and so is our Worship Center here.  So we're spending some time asking for funds.

          Sometimes I don't quite know how to approach God on this.  I'd love a big response, but I also want God's will to be done, and the two are not always the same.  God may have another plan in mind for us than big bucks.  He may just want us to be satisfied with what we have, to accept His will in life.  At a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson, former New York Yankees second baseman, offered a prayer that is a classic in brevity.  It also shows his willingness to accept God's will.  His prayer shows his consecration of self to God.  It went like this:  "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.  Amen."  Now, that's the right attitude.  That's what brings a blessing.

          Our Savior Jesus spoke a prayer like that in the Garden of Gethsemane.  "Not my will, but yours be done," He said. (Luke 22:42)   And the Father heard His prayer.  But Jesus wasn't delivered - He gave God His life, and delivered the whole world.  What we do is for Jesus, not for ourselves.  What we seek is not riches of the world, but riches of His grace in Christ Jesus.  And so, as we approach this great task, we consecrate ourselves to God, to His grace and to His will.  And may our prayer also be, "Dear God, Your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else."  That's the ABCs of giving: the right Attitude, the right Blessing, the right Consecration.  Amen

Copyright © 2006 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.