The 4^th Sunday after Epiphany

SERMON

In Nomine Jesu!

Text: 2 Corinthians 8:1-9

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

In Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself for us in order that we by God’s grace might be moved to give ourselves back to Him, dear fellow redeemed:

This morning I want to speak to you about a subject that pertains to us all and is important to us all, for it involves our individual relationships with God. It is a subject, certain aspects of which are sensitive to many people, although they need not be. The subject is that of "giving." We are considering today the fourth portion of our liturgical service, "We Offer Ourselves to our Lord." While many people may immediately think of the monetary offering we collect during this portion of the service as the main feature in "giving," it really is not. The offerings that we contribute to the collection plate each Sunday are really only one aspect of overall "giving," and really is not the most important aspect.

In our Epistle lesson for today St. Paul wrote, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Paul admonishes us, not to give just a portion of the wealth that God has entrusted to us, but rather to give ourselves entirely to our God as "living sacrifices." This, God says, is our "reasonable service." It is entirely reasonable to give ourselves to God, because He gave up His Son for us. As Jesus gave Himself to be a dying sacrifice for us, we are to give ourselves as living sacrifices for Him.

This is impossible for our flesh to do. By nature our sinful flesh wants to please and serve itself. Unfortunately, such self-service is knowingly or unknowingly also service to Satan. It is only though the miracle of faith granted to us by God’s grace that we can be led away from sinful and selfish attitudes into the godly attitude of offering ourselves to our God and through God to our fellowmen. It is this thought, then, that I would like to share with you today— "WE OFFER OURSELVES TO OUR LORD"—such an attitude is a MIRACLE OF GOD’S GRACE! We shall see, first of all, that God’s grace led Christ to give Himself for us; and we shall see, secondly, that God’s grace leads us to give ourselves to the Lord and then to others!

I.

In our text from 2 Corinthians, St. Paul is writing to the Corinthians and encouraging them to prepare a special offering intended to help their fellow believers in Judea who were suffering from famine. In order to inspire and encourage them, St. Paul spoke to them of what has at times been called "the Macedonian miracle." The churches of Macedonia were made up of relatively poor people, and yet, by the grace of God, they had responded to the needs of the Judean Christians in a way that went far beyond their abilities. How did this happen? What led these poor people to contribute so generously to help people whom they had never seen and did not know? St. Paul pointed out that the Macedonians were moved to do this by God, Who by His grace led Christ to give Himself for us. St. Paul writes, "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich."

My dear friends, the key to offering ourselves, body and soul, to our God in faith and with joy, is to understand what Jesus has done for us! We know very well the Christmas story of Jesus being born in a stable and placed in a manger, but we do not often think about what He left behind in order to do that! Jesus is God’s Son! He possessed all glory and honor and in heaven He sat at God’s right hand and enjoyed the praises and services of angelic hosts. Jesus had a choice. Should He remain the Prince, or should He become the Pauper. He chose to give up His riches in order to become poor for us. He possessed all power, but He did not use it. He did not have a beautiful home in which to live. He did not go on expensive vacations to relax. He did not ride in a golden chariot to get around. No, He healed the sick and preached to the poor and the lost. He endured the rejection of His own people. He was spat upon. He underwent the physical torment of scourging and crucifixion. He suffer the pain of hell—being forsaken by His own Father—in order that we, who by reason of our sinful natures, are poor and deserving of nothing but God’s judgment, might become rich in forgiveness, which leads to life and salvation.

This is what is the underlying motivation for offering ourselves to our God. Anything less, anything else will not work. Perhaps the impact of what Jesus did for us is lessened by the material prosperity we enjoy in our country. We may not feel poor, and yet by nature we are destitute and apart from Christ we would have no future apart from the sufferings of hell. This, therefore, must be kept in mind!

There are people who dedicate themselves to God—who offer themselves to God and who live outwardly pious lives, but who do not do it out of love and appreciation for Jesus’ work of redemption. They do it, much as Luther once did it, in a vain attempt to please God and so earn their salvation. In their ignorance and vanity they strive to save themselves by their own goodness. Such motivation, however, is an insult to Jesus and a rejection of God’s plan of salvation. It can and will lead only to the destruction of such souls, in spite of all outward acts of piety. May the Lord preserve us from such thinking and should it ever happen, may we be led to repentance and to the realization that without our Savior we would be lost forever! Miracles occur, however, in the lives of those individuals whose consciences are pricked by sin, and whose hearts are touched by faith in such a Savior as Jesus. Yes, we can only offer ourselves to our Lord, when by a miracle of God’s grace we come to cherish as the most important truth in our lives the fact that Christ gave Himself up for us!

II.

It is only then that God’s grace leads us to give ourselves to the Lord and then to others. In explaining to the Corinthians the nature of the Macedonians’ gift, St. Paul pointed out, "They first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God." Dear friends, God is not interested in part of you—a small portion of you. Rather He is interested in having all of you freely given out of love for and in appreciation of Jesus Christ and the future He has given you. Truly, we are not our own, for we have been bought with a price—the precious blood of Jesus! This is the attitude that we want by the grace of God to foster, and let it be known it can only occur through the grace of God. Such an attitude is a fruit of faith and must begin inside our hearts.

Unfortunately, there are people who seem to rejoice in the gifts of God given freely through Christ, but whose hearts remain hard and unwilling. In weakness they assume that they are in control of their lives and need not offer themselves to God. Rather as convenience permits they offer a little bit of their time, or a little bit of their talent, or a little bit of their wealth—as if God is some beggar in need, rather than the One who owns all and has merely entrusted His wealth to us. God forbid that we should make a beggar out of our God! Rather may we say with the Psalmist even as we sing after each sermon, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me!" (Psalm 51:10).

We will only find true joy and satisfaction when we give ourselves to the Lord. The Psalmist writes, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) We live in a restless world—a world which is constantly striving for more and more and which seldom finds contentment and happiness. Yet such contentment and happiness are available, if only we will turn to the Lord and offer ourselves to Him. Is there a more wonderful way to begin the day than with a prayer to offer ourselves to the Lord—to do His bidding, to help those to whom He directs us, to share with those He has redeemed and loves, to build them up, to rejoice in their progress? Truly, when we offer ourselves to the Lord we will find that the questions we ask ourselves will change and we will be the better for it? The Macedonians did not ask, "Can we afford to give to these people?" "What portion of my expendable income might I offer?" No, they gave of themselves, seeking what they might do and desiring to do even more. And to what end? They became the ministers of God’s love, growing in their own understand, faith, and purpose.

Dear friends, by God’s grace and in faith we, too, can out of love give ourselves to the Lord and then to one another. As we seek to put His kingdom first in our lives, as we ask ourselves how we might help, what we might do—we will find that God will provide for all of our needs in ways and to extents we cannot imagine. St. Paul wrote the Corinthians, not to command them to give, but rather to "test the sincerity of their love." In the same way, may we review our lives and attitudes. Let us recognize with joy the sacrifice of our Savior. By God’s grace let us strive to become living sacrifices for our God—seeking not to do that which is minimally acceptable, but rather to abound in the use of our every gift in His service by serving others. Opportunities abound and God will never leave a willing heart waiting!

Charles Swindoll, a Christian author, once told the story about a Christian G.I. driving through the streets of London shortly after World War II. As he rounded a corning in his jeep, he saw one of London’s many orphan standing with his nose pressed against the glass of a bakery window. He pulled over the curb, got out, and quietly approached the boy. As he drew closer he could hear the boy groaning in hunger. He entered the bakery bought a dozen of the freshly baked buns, brought them outside and handed them to the boy. The wide-eyed boy, stunned by this act of kindness, asked, "Mister, are you God?" My dear friends, we are not God, but as children of God we are called upon to offer ourselves to our God and then to our neighbor. Let us strive through our words and actions to bring glory to our God and to be a blessing to one another. Yes, indeed, may we offer ourselves to the Lord as the grace of our God enables us, for then we will experience God’s distinct blessing! Amen.