Text: Matthew 17:24-27

My purpose for this message: To help Christians understand that sacrificial giving not only supplies needs, but changes us.

Delivered: February. 21, 2010

 

 

Can’t the Money Come from Fish Instead of Us?

I still remember the day Jack invited me to go icefishing. 

We were living in Michigan where our home was close to a lot of water.  Just 2 miles from the picturesque Grand Traverse Bay that flowed south 60 miles from Lake Michigan, but also there were lakes in every direction.  In a place where the snow starts flies from September to April—sometimes even May, and the temperatures stay low, all that water turns to ice—thick ice.

Jack meant well, and as someone I was trying to talk to about Jesus, I should have taken him up on his invitation.  But living in Michigan I became convinced that low temperatures have a deranging effect on people.  For example, some churches baptized people in the bay year ‘round; hack through the ice, put the brother/sister under the water, then rush them to Munson Medical Center for hypothermia.

But the oddest thing to me was that people would drive out onto the ice in the winter, cut holes in it, set up little huts over those holes, and then fish for hours.  Below 70 degrees my feet are cold so the idea of putting them on ice for 8 hours is, well, unappealing. 

I told Jack “no”.

 

Some of you are avid fishermen and often successful; let me ask you, have you ever caught a fish and found money in its mouth?  The chief disciple Peter did!

READ Matthew 17:24-27.  Pray.

1.     The Incident

Earlier in the chapter Jesus held a leadership meeting on a mountaintop with his inner circle: Peter, James and John.  3 men living on earth got to see what you and I will only see once we die: Jesus in all his glory, no camouflage, no veil.  As they watched, stupefied, they heard the heavens rumble: This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.  Listen to Him!”  (v.5)

Jesus, Son of the Father; Son of the King.

At the synagogues and temple, the Jews took offerings just like we do.  Unlike us, each Jewish adult between the ages of 20 and 50 was taxed (I like that apparently the old folks were exempt!) to fund the temple and its services.

Jesus and the disciples went to Capernaum which was Peter’s home town (go with us to Israel in a few years and we’ll show you his house).  The temple tax collectors—probably looking to disgrace Jesus, put their local boy on the spot: does your leader comply with the tax?  Peter too quickly spoke for Jesus, “Yes, He does.”

Jesus asked him about it in private: do kings usually tax their own sons?  American presidents do, but ancient kings had absolute power and exempted their families from the taxes imposed on subjects. 

Who was the king of the temple?  God.  And His claim from v.5 comes to mind: Jesus is my Son.  Why should He pay?  The temple is for Him—about Him, why should He pay?  But still in His “humiliation phase” as a man rather than a glorious prince, Jesus chose not to enforce theological truth with the tax collectors; no need to cause offense.

He sent Peter down to the Sea of Galilee with his fishing pole to try and reel in a fish with tax money in its mouth.

Wouldn’t that be a cool way to pay for stuff?  “Honey, the transmission just gave out and I don’t think it’s an ’83 Buick with 240,000 miles is worth repairing.   Since we’re going to need to get another car, ahh, I’m going fishing.  Be back from the lake by 7 and we can be at the dealership by 7:30.”

Or, “Mom, I need some new sneakers for gym class.”  So Mom hands little Billy his fishing pole.  “Check inside the mouth of the 3^rd fish you catch.”

 

2.     Our Situation

Wouldn’t it be great to pay for our new building that way?  God just “magically” gives us the money?  Then we wouldn’t need to shave off $ ½ million from our $3 ¾ million project because it’s over our budget.  Then you and wouldn’t need to give at least $1 ¾ million above and beyond what we are currently give.  Wouldn’t “money fish” be a great way to go?

God almost always operates differently—always differently with grand endeavors like we’re doing.  Yes, in addition to the world’s cattle—He owns its gold, oil fields, coal, diamonds, iron.  But instead of raining resources from heaven, he incites people to donate from their resources.

When He commissioned the tabernacle, instead of simply sending the materials from heaven, He told Moses to ask for donations from “everyone who is willing” (Exodus 35-36). 

When Zerubbabel embarked on rebuilding the temple, it happened because God “moved the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia” to endorse it (Ezra 1:1), because God moved the hearts of Jewish captives in Babylon to do the work (Ezra 1:5), and because Jews from both Babylon and Judah gave materials and money for the project (Ezra 1:6, 2:68-69). 

When the prophet Agabus prophesied that a famine was going to clobber the Roman world (Acts 11:28), the saints in Antioch took up an offering to help.  In fact, for a number of reasons poverty was the rule of the day among Jerusalem’s saints and for the next 10 years Paul and church representatives collected many donations from the Gentile churches for their needy Jewish brothers and sisters in Judea. 

People are usually interested mostly in getting things done, but God is just as interested in how things get done; the process.  Because in the process, not only is the project funded, but the giver is affected.  God not only does work through us, He does work in us.

3.     How Giving Changes Christians

In a 1995 episode the TV show Seinfeld coined a new word for the English language: “regifting”.  Everyone does it: you get a gift from someone you in turn give to someone else.  For any number of reasons:

·       You were given duplicates (we received 5 electric can openers for our wedding)

·       You don’t like the gift

·       You used the gift once or twice but weren’t impressed with its quality

·       You are too cheap to buy a gift

Regifting is a way to participate in a someone’s special event like a birthday or wedding or anniversary, without really having any skin in the game.  It requires of you no effort to select a gift, no caution to make sure it’s of good quality, and there’s no cost to you.  Giving away what others gave me requires no thought, no commitment, no sacrifice…, no personal impact.

Assembling the money for the Capital Campaign in some magical fashion would be similar to regifting.  The “process” would have no effect on me:  it would not require me to pray about what to give, to think about what to give, to promise money in the future that frankly, I don’t know if I’ll have.  I would not need to make a sacrifice.  I would be unaffected, undisturbed, unchallenged…, unchanged.

God’s not willing to settle for that.

Towards the end of his reign, King David appointed censustakers to count how many soldiers or potential soldiers Israel had.  Seems harmless but even David soon admitted that by what he’d done, “I’ve sinned greatly” (2 Samuel 24:10).   As punishment, God sent a plague on David’s subjects and 70,000 people died.  Horrified that his personal sin had brought the public so much sorrow David begged God to stop.  He did.  It was at Araunah’s threshing floor where the angel of death put up his sword, and God told David to purchase the place for a site to build an altar.  I’m not sure David knew at that time, but this would be where his son would build the temple.

Araunah was not a Jew yet he offered David the property free of charge.  What a deal!  Imagine of some anonymous benefactor simply gave us a check for $4 million for the project; paid in full, and then some.  Or a net full of fish with thousand dollar bills in their mouths.

But David sees beyond simply having what he wants.  So this was his reply to Araunah:  READ 2 Samuel 24:24.

David understood that it is in personal giving that the heart is either expressed or changed.  Jesus said as much when he said, For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).  We give what we value, and we give to what we value, and by asking us to give, God speaks to us, works in us.

 

Concl:

Are you part of Keystone’s family of faith?  I believe God is asking you to give to build this tool.  Your ability may be much greater than some…, or much less (we’ll especially talk to you next week).  The amount is not the point.  What is the point, is that in calling you to take part, God is not simply trying to fund the building; He’s building each of us through it too.

·       Is God trying to instill a love for the church—or deepen it?  (2 Corinthians 8:8-9)

·       Is He trying to expose what/who you truly love?  (Matthew 6:21)

·       Is He trying to put you on a “standard of living” diet?  (Haggai 1:4)

·       Does He want to add muscle to your faith?  (Malachi 3:9-12)

·       Is He trying to separate you from one or more idols?  (Ezekiel 14:1-8; Matthew 6:24)

·       Is He offering you a front row seat to a miracle?  (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

·       Is He trying to turn your eyes from earth to heaven?  (Colossians 3:1-3; 1 Timothy 6:18-19)

·       Is He trying to mold you into a bigger and better receptacle of His grace (2 Cor.8:1-2, 9:8).