“How to become a part of God’s mission at RHC”

This morning I’m going to talk about how you can become part of God’s mission at RHC. In a little bit I’m going to challenge you to become a part of RHC by giving in three distinct areas. Before we analyze these areas we must first talk about our motivation. Giving should always be motivated by the proper thing. A person could make a list of a hundred motivational things but I’m going to give you one.

It is…

The finished work of Jesus Christ, the gospel.

The gospel is and should always be the foundational motivator for what we do. It is in the gospel that we are chosen, called, saved, changed, secured, empowered, and given a new identity. And it is through the gospel that we are released from sin, bondage, selfishness, self-centeredness and idolatry of every form. The gospel provides us with an identity in Jesus so that we don’t have to find our identity, value, and worth in the things of this world. The gospel compels us to be radically generous with what we have because we are secured in Christ.

Out of all the examples set forth in Scripture, there is one that we can look at that really captures the powerful transforming work of the gospel and how it produced fearless and generosity in a person. That example is the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus. Turn to Luke chapter 19:1-10.

Luke 19:1-10

1He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Let’s take a closer look at this passage.

One of the first thing’s we see is:

1. Jesus called Zacchaeus out of a tree.

Verse 5

5“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down…”

Zacchaeus was a hated and despised tax collector. Zacchaeus worked for Rome, Israel’s enemy.

Zacchaeus added fees to the taxes he collected so that he could get rich. Zacchaeus basically scammed his own countrymen and they hated him for it. With that being said, the tree that Zacchaeus climbed served as more than a ladder, it was also a tall shelter from the hostile crowds below. The tree put Zacchaeus out of the reach of his enemies. When Jesus called out to Zacchaeus, it was as if He was saying, “Come down from your perch of protection Zacchaeus, you have nothing to fear from me.”

The second thing we see is:

2. Jesus invited Himself into Zacchaeus’ house.

Verse 5 (again)

5“for I must stay at your house today…”

The word “must” is an imperative. It is equivalent to saying, “It is necessary that I stay at your house today…” Jesus didn’t ask Zacchaeus if He could come over. He didn’t sheepishly insinuate that He’d like to drop in for a visit. He straight up told Zacchaeus, “I’ve got to come over dude, it is important…”

One thing that is almost always overlooked here is the spiritual dimension to what Jesus said. You cannot reduce what Jesus said to just the physical because Zacchaeus’ response in verses 6 & 8 and the Lord’s comments in verses 9 & 10 will not allow it. The house that Jesus mentioned represents both Zacchaeus’ physical address and his spiritual address or soul. Jesus invited Himself into both.

The third thing we see is:

3. Zacchaeus received Jesus with joy.

6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

“Received” means to accept the Lord’s invitation and to welcome Him. Have you ever heard a preacher ask, “Have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior?” This is what Zacchaeus did. Without hesitation he hurried down from his perch and joyfully received the Lord’s offer of security, acceptance, and salvation.

Look at the word “Joyfully”.

Joyfully is (chairōn) in Greek. Luke used it nine times in his gospel to denote an attitude of joy that accompanies faith and salvation. This is that joy that King David lost and cried out for after he committed adultery and murder.

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me O God the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

This is the joy that only comes through the saving work of Jesus Christ, the gospel. Zacchaeus was exploding with it.

Look at the forth thing that happened:

4. Zacchaeus’ incredible joy led to radical generosity.

8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Zacchaeus offered to give half of what he owned to the poor and to pay back those he cheated for times. Jesus didn’t command that he do this. Jesus didn’t preach an 8 point sermon which convicted him to do it. Jesus didn’t lay on a guilt trip.

Jesus called ZacchaeusJesus saved ZacchaeusZacchaeus was filled with joyZacchaeus gave generously

It was the saving work Of Jesus that filled Zacchaeus with unspeakable joy which moved him to be radically generous. The same thing happened with Barnabas and a bunch of other people in the early days of the church. When the gospel invaded Barnabas’ life, he was filled with joy and gratitude and then sold his field and then he generously laid the money at the feet of the apostles (Acts 4:36).

One of my goals as the pastor of RHC is to keep the gospel before us so that we will be filled with joy and gratitude which will result in obedience and radical generosity. I want to challenge you in light of the gospel to make yourself part of God’s mission here by exercising radical generosity in three distinct areas. The first is…

1. Give your time

We only have a certain amount of time each day, week and in life. And the world keeps us busy and it divides our time and so does the church.

People literally jump from church to church during the week to attend Bible studies, events, and seminars. We act like consumers jumping from store to store. I want to challenge you to spend your time here. Devote yourselves to attending our worship gatherings and functions. Make RHC your home. God will bless and protect you if you do this.

How will God do this?

He will do it be keeping you from getting burned out.

He will do it by keeping you from getting biblically and theologically confused.

He will do it by blessing you with deeper more meaningful relationships.

Another way you can give of your time is by investing in others. You can spend your time right here at RHC serving the body. Right now we have a bunch of areas where you can invest your time. And I know that these areas will expand and multiply in the coming months as our church grows. This leads to the second area I want to encourage you to be radically generous in:

2. Give your talent

Every person in Christ has at least one gift or talent that they can use to serve the rest of the church.

The NT identifies these talents:

Administration, discernment, faith, healing, helps, knowledge, prophecy, teaching, languages, wisdom, exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, service, and evangelism.

Right now we have opportunities where many of these talents can be used.

6 areas:

Facilities :: Overseer :: Colby Parker

Facilities includes building maintenance, set-up & tear down for our worship services, and construction in 114 (new worship center).

RHC Kid's Ministry :: Overseers :: Peter and Cami Rodgers

We need couples, moms, and singles to care for our babies and little ones during our worship services. We will be developing a rotating schedule that you can sign up for.

Music and Tech :: Overseers :: Aaron Filbrun and Cameron Ayers

We would like to build a small worship band to lead on Sundays and we need techs to run sound and to set up the stage.

Hospitality :: Overseer :: Carol Whittemore

We need greeters, parking lot attendants, and refreshment preparers for our Sunday worship gatherings.

Administration :: Overseer :: Paul Rodgers

Administration would include things like bookkeeping, accounting, secretarial, running errands, and business related things.

Media :: Overseer :: Phil Baker (me)

We need an individual or team to take care of our print and audio media and our weekend bulletins.

The third area I want to encourage you to be radically generous in is:

3. Give your treasure

This is the area that Zacchaeus really shined. Why did Zacchaeus shine so brightly in this area? I believe it was because Jesus had done for him what his money could never do which was to satisfy the true longings of his heart. This is what the gospel does. It satisfies the needs of the heart that cannot be satisfied by possessions, people, by achievements, or whatever.

The brilliant French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal wrote,

“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

Blaise recognized that the heart is full of longings and desperation and that only God can satisfy those longings and give the heart true peace. The problem with people is that they know that something is missing but they put the wrong things in the hole. The Bible is filled with examples of this. Barabbas had a hole in his heart and he tried to plug it was nationalism. Simon the Magician had a hole in his heart and he tried to plug it with popularity. The rich young ruler, Ananias, Sapphira and Zacchaeus all had holes in their hearts that they tried to fill with money and possessions.

Zacchaeus was the exception in this bunch because he had a real genuine transformational experience with Christ. He was changed and impacted so deeply that he joyously traded his earthly treasures for the treasures of heaven.

Let me ask you some questions:

What have you been stuffing into the hole in your heart? Is it money, porn, drugs, alcohol, fashion, lovers, achievements, the acceptance of others.

Don’t you know that only Jesus can satisfy your heart longings. Don’t you know that only the gospel will put an end to the relentless pursuits of your heart.

Has the gospel transformed the way you view your treasure and how generous you are with it? Are you like Zacchaeus? Are you secured in Christ to the point that you freely give away your treasure?

Did you know that every opportunity to give your treasure away is an opportunity show to God where your security is.

If we give joyfully and generously we show God that we are secured in Christ.

If we’re reluctant and bring less than we know we should we show God that our security is divided between our treasure and Christ.

If we hold back and keep everything to ourselves we show God that our security is entirely in our treasure.

You must remember this friend’s:

The gospel always produces generosity in the life of a person when it is truly manifested in the heart of a person.

You might be wondering, if I give some of my treasure, how will it be used at RHC? This is a great question.

Monthly Expenses

Rent and utilities on two buildings next doorWebsite feesThe City (church networking)PrintingInsurance (working on getting)Refreshments

Future Investments

Furnish our RHC Kid’s Ministry space in (112)Remodel our new worship center (114)Furnish our new worship centerBooks and study materialsHire employees (me, admin, other pastors)Health insurance for employeesChurch planting fund (10%)

These things are just the beginning. So what have we learned this morning?

We’ve learned that the gospel is our primary motivator behind our generosity.

We’ve learned that we can become a part of God’s mission at RHC:

By… Using our time to attend RHC’s weekly services and functions

By… Giving our time to serve others

By… Giving our talent so that our people can be built up

By… Giving our treasure so that we can pay our operating expenses and invest in the future