The Greatest Gift Ever Given | Store Up

Whenever we put together a sermon series on giving

and stewardship and looking at time, talents,

and treasures, it's always an interesting conversation

that goes on kind of in my heart, in my head

of, yeah, it's a lot easier, it's not easy necessarily

to stand up here and just say, you know, be mindful

to tithe, give your 10%, blah, blah, blah, blah,

all the things. But God always takes that fear,

that trepidation that I have to kind of do it

for the month and really changes a lot of the

conversation. And it's been interesting, the

conversations that I've had with all of you that

have come and talked to me or emailed or called

or texted some questions on looking at some of

these passages in a different way. I love breaking

down a good Jesus narrative about what happens

with the rich young ruler and all the things.

But we find ourselves in a very, I'd probably

say the most... popular set of verses in all

of scripture. I hate to say that, but we see

it everywhere, even places it doesn't belong,

right? You'll see it at wrestling shows, or you'll

see it on ESPN in the college game day. I saw

it yesterday, where someone will just put something

316, right? Where it's really John 316, for God

so loved the world that he, one and only son,

that whoever It's always funny that gave his

one and only son, that whoever believes in eternal

life, because we kind of forget some of the words.

So let's dive in to John 3, 16, 16 through 21.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one

and only son, that whoever believes in him should

not perish, but have eternal life. For God did

not send his son into the world to condemn the

world, but in order that the world might be saved

through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe is condemned already,

because he has not believed in the name of the

only Son of God. And this is the judgment. The

light has come into the world, and people love

the darkness rather than the light, because their

works were evil. For everyone who does wicked

things hates the light and does not come to the

light, lest the works should be exposed. But

whoever does what is true comes to the light

so that it may be clearly seen that his work

has been carried out in God. So there's more

to it than just John 3, 16, and 17 for the half

of you that could actually make it through 17.

But that's the gospel, right? That God so loved

the world that he gave the greatest gift ever.

So we've been talking about our treasures, what

we treasure, why we treasure, what we center

on in our life for several weeks. We talk about

where we've stored our treasures, the importance

of who we serve with them and how to live generously

with others. All of that leads to this sermon,

this final sermon with really probably the best

teaching I could give today. is the recognition

that God is the most generous giver ever. Now,

that's easy to say. He's creator. But he shows

it in this verse. He shows it in John 3, 16.

Like I said, perhaps the most famous verse in

all the Bible. But sometimes its familiarity

dulls its power. We can say it, but do we actually,

like, are we listening to the words that we say?

For God so loved. The world. That when you love

something, you care for it, you protect it, you

provide for it. That he gave his only son. Doubles

down, whoever believes in him should not perish

but have eternal life. This is the ultimate picture

of kingdom economics. This is the ultimate picture

of what we've been talking about, the culmination

of every aspect of our treasures, of how, where,

when, who we store it for. Because God didn't

give out of his scarcity, like we talked about

last two weeks ago. He gave it out of his abundance.

For God so loved the world. But if we read other

parts of Scripture, God is love. So love incarnate

gave himself for us. Out of the abundance of

love. He didn't give the leftovers. He gave his

one and only son. He didn't give it reluctantly.

But he gave it freely, gladly, for sinners like

me. And sinners like you. He gave it for the

church. That's a powerful place to be. That's

a powerful place to sit. Especially because we've

been talking about the things that we get in

life. What we store up. Time, talents, but mainly

treasures. I don't know about you, but family

is the greatest treasure in my life. My relationship

with my wife, my three kids, our dogs, maybe.

I don't know. But that family is the most important

thing. It's my family for me, my family, and

then my church family. That we can use the word

family, a prayer we pray all the time with people.

We thank God for bringing friends who are more

like family into our lives. I understand that

the idea of family can bring negatives. Can bring

hardship, hurt, burnt relationships, divorce.

All of those negative things, God reminds us

in this verse that we are a part of his family.

Out of the abundance of love that he has for

you and for me, the same ones that spit on his

name throughout this past week when we've sinned,

gives his one and only son for us. We're going

to dive a little bit into how this is written

because the Greek is really phenomenal and it

really changed for me how I read this verse.

It starts off with the word hoitos. And the word

hoitos doesn't just mean that he loves so much,

but in this way God shows. And I don't know about

you, but that's an important thing in my life.

The way that Carrie shows me she loves me. at

times is way more impactful to my life than saying

it or reading it or something. And if you think

about it, you're probably the same way. The way

people show you that they love you makes far

more impact in your life than them just saying

it. Because we can use the word love all the

time. I love you. You mean so much to me. I love

Cherry Coke. I hope your love for Cherry Coke

and your love for your spouse are not the same

kind of love. Right? I really hope it's not.

If it is, let's have a conversation. But talk,

as we learned two sermon series ago, and really

what Jesus is saying in this past month, is that

talk is cheap. Actions really show. What people

mean. How they live their life. How people see

the way you live your life. Can tell the world

who you follow, what you serve, what you love,

what you care about, what you don't care about.

Let's call a spade a spade the church. So often

the church is known for what they're against,

not what they're for. Ooh, sign me up. But as

a church who loves the Lord, we need to love

people then. No ifs, ands, or buts. Why? Because

in this way, God so loved the world. What he's

saying is this is how much God loved us. He gave

his son. I love all of you. I wouldn't do that

for you. And I guarantee you wouldn't do that

for me. That's a hard thing to ask. And it's

not the first time we see it with Jesus. Right?

We see it all the way early on in the scriptures.

Between who? God and who does he call to have

someone give up their son? Abraham with his son.

Go up and sacrifice him. And Abraham, I want

to believe Abraham was going to do it. In my

nerdy mind of the things I'm going to ask, the

people I'm going to find when I get up to heaven

and ask questions, that's one I want to ask.

Dude, were you really, if you can say dude in

heaven, I don't know. But, bro, do you think

that you could actually do that? Right? And I

don't know what Abraham's going to say. There's

probably a long line to talk to Abraham. He was

a big deal in the Old Testament, right? But I'll

wait my turn. But that was another way to show

not only love for God, but love for the plan

God has. That sometimes God calls us to do crazy

things. And it's whether we love and trust him

enough to actually do it. This is how God loved

us. The generosity of God is not measured. In

emotion, it is measured in action. If you are

a kind of person that keeps that love tank that

you have for other people purely in emotions,

I'm going to ask that you stop and put your emotions

to actions, and that's a lot harder. To say that

you love someone and to show them that you love

them, if we're being honest, are two radically

different things. How do we know that a relationship

has gone cold? When it's just this and not this.

When it's just talk. You know it's gone real

cold when there isn't even talk. Then what are

you really attaching to? Is there even signs

of life? The generosity of God is not measured

in emotion but in action. So, God so loved the

Lord, he gave his only son. Monogenesis, this

word doesn't mean created, but unique, one of

a kind, beloved. Jesus is the Father's most precious

treasure. To give him is to give what costs the

most. Let me say that again. To give Jesus is

to give what costs the most for God. And God

had everything at his disposal. He could have

gave anything for this. But the reason why he

sent his son to the cross, out of love for you

and for me. Like I said, what does that even

look like in your life? In my life? Jim, if you

really loved your church, you would sacrifice

one of your sons to show that love. We engage

that. It doesn't make any sense. And I love you

all, but I wouldn't have done it. But that's

not the call we have. The call God had for us

is to believe when he says, I am sending you

my son. And you've got to remember how this conversation,

where this is coming from. Who's saying this?

Who's saying this in John 3 .16? I'm not going

to put lunch on this. It's too easy. Maybe it's

not. Who is saying this? Jesus. Jesus is saying

this to who? This is for lunch. Oh, I was way

too easy. Yeah, Jeremiah, I got you. Jesus is

saying this about himself. He is telling the

wise Nicodemus, the Pharisee, for God so loved

the world, he gave me. That whoever believes

in me will never perish but have eternal life.

That word give, gave, means something. Augustine

wrote this, God had only one son without sin,

but he had none without suffering. God gave his

treasure so that we could become his treasure.

I don't know about you, but that is kingdom economics.

That is putting the value in the most important

thing, not in the stuff. Because we put our love,

we put our desire in the things that perish.

Yet here we see a contrast. The perishing things

to a perishing life versus the eternal life.

Eternal life is not just length of days. Eternal

life, when we get to heaven, as we read in the

scriptures, is a fulfillment of life in God.

Your perfected life. I could probably sit down

with each and every one of you and go, what do

you think your perfected life looks like? Just

looks. Let's just go to skin deep. Okay? And

I'm sure there will be a laundry list of things.

And I'm just talking to myself. Right? Like,

I'm sure there's abs. Right? And maybe in my

perfected life you'd be able to see them. Who

knows? Why did you laugh? That was not funny.

Right? But we have this understanding. What do

you think your perfected body is going to look

like? I'm not going to really ask because that's

weird. But it is something. That changes our

mindset. That when we get up into glory, what

Paul says, now we see lit dimly in a mirror,

soon we will see face to face the greatest treasures

of our life. The fullness of life with God. By

nature, because we sin, we are under the condemnation,

right? Without Christ, we are not spiritually

neutral. We are already perishing. That's why

the gospel is so important. That's why John 3

.16 is such a powerful verse. Because I guarantee

if I asked you to come up with three people in

your life that don't know Jesus as Lord, it'd

take you five seconds to come up with it. Guess

what? They're perishing. They are condemned already.

That's why it's so important to bring the gospel

truth to the people in your life. To the people

you come and encounter in your life day in and

day out. But this is the gospel. The rich fool

hoarded and lost his soul, we learned three weeks

ago. The rich young ruler clung to his wealth

and walked away sorrowful two weeks ago. But

God gave his son. And whoever believes has eternal

life. This is not only kingdom economics. This

is the generosity of the kingdom of God. Where

we could not give enough, God gave everything.

Our confessions help us understand. In Highbrook

Catechism question and answer 60, God grants

and credits me the perfect satisfaction, perfect

righteousness, and perfect holiness of Christ,

as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner. Cheryl,

leave that one up there. I'm going to ask you

to take seven seconds. And think about your life

without sin. Just take seven seconds. What does

your life look like without sin? Anyone want

to give that a thought? Can't do it, can you?

It's virtually impossible to think about your

life without sin. Because it's part of our DNA

right now. Notice what I just said. That sin

is a part of our DNA right now. That depravity,

that friction, that rub that goes on every day,

every minute. While we've been here, we've struggled

with it in some way, shape, or form. And we're

in the house of God. Can't we just go through

some kind of censor, de -sin for an hour or an

hour and ten, depending on how long I preach,

and then we can just pick it back up in the parking

lot? That's not how it works. Yet, what we read

is that God grants and credits me perfect satisfaction,

perfect righteousness, and perfect holiness of

Christ, as if I have never sinned nor been a

sinner. What a wonderful gift we all will get

when we get there. But the ones that try to live

this now, in this day and age, Pharisees. Mad

judgmental. No one wants to be around these people

and gives the church a bad name. Because we have

to be honest with our sin. Not complacent, but

honest with our sin. And that's why Jesus was

given. I don't know about you, but that's generosity

you can't buy. That's a generosity we can only

receive. And I know, I look out and see a bunch

of you. It's hard for you to receive someone

else's generosity. But this isn't optional in

our relationship with God. It's the difference

between darkness and light. This has everything

to do with submitting our treasures, our stored

up treasures, for God's generosity. Jesus explains

why some will reject him. People loved the darkness

rather than the light because their works were

evil. This isn't about intellect today, friends.

It's about affection. Who do you hold in affection

in your life? The issue is not that people can't

understand. It's they won't let go what they

treasure most. I don't know about you, but that's

convicting. Just like the rich young ruler and

the rich fool, both, Many of us love the weight

of our wealth more than the freedom of the gospel.

Let me say that again. Just like the rich fool

and the rich ruler, many of us love the weight

of our wealth more than the freedom of the gospel.

Let's put that to the test. Tomorrow, sell everything.

This is just hypothetical. Sell everything. Everything,

just give it away. Is your relationship with

God worse or better for it? Now, 99 % of us,

100 % of us, we'll never know because we're not

going to do that. But to receive the generosity

of God, which is ultimately everlasting life,

what he is doubling down in this past month is

that we can't hold on to both the gospel truth

and all of our stuff. mix it together and take

it with us. We can't do it. But Jesus, as the

light of the world, exposes our idols, not to

shame us, but to break the chains and set us

free to walk in the light as to live in this

life. What he is saying is when you define yourself

by your stuff, you are not defining yourself

by God. But pastor, I give stuff away. Great.

I tithe. Awesome. Fantastic. I donate to missionaries.

Fantastic. But are you still defining yourself

by what you have? Are you defining yourself by

the light of God? To walk in the light is to

live a life that is done in God. Works that flow

out of His grace and bring glory to Him. That's

where we've been the last four weeks. What are

you attaching to? And hear me, it is not a bad

thing to have wealth. It is not a bad thing to

have stuff. It's not a bad thing to get a new

car every month, or maybe not every month, but

you know what I mean. Those aren't inherently

bad things, but when they define who you are,

and what's a good test for that? Take them out

of the equation, and you feel differently about

yourself. then maybe you're letting them define

who you are too closely, too impactfully. Because

what we're called to do, as Jesus is telling

Nicodemus, we're to live in God's generosity

every day. So what does that mean? Some practical

things as I land the plane, as we close out this

series and look to a new one. First, receive

before. You give. True generosity doesn't start

with our wallets. It starts with us receiving

the gift of Christ by faith. For a lot of you,

you've done that. You're in the faith. You believe.

You have professed. Fantastic. Second is to see

Christ as the true treasure. If God gave his

son for you, what more do you need to feel secure?

That one hurts. I get it. And I'm looking at

myself first. Well, one thing we can do is we

can hold money loosely. And this doesn't mean

just invest poorly or anything like that. This

means be good stewards of it. Possessions are

temporary. God's kingdom is eternal. Ask yourself,

what can I give away today to show Christ is

my treasure? What can I give away today to show

that Christ is my treasure? Because then number

four, we live in the light. Generosity isn't

just about money, but about transparency, living

open -hearted before God and others. And then

finally, reflect God's generosity. The Belgian

Confession, Article 24, reminds us, our good

works flow from faith. Hear that. It's not before.

Good works don't get us faith. Good works flow

from faith. When we give, serve, and love, we

are mirroring the God who gave us his son. The

one who your life is defined by. That you are

defined first and foremost by Jesus Christ. Look

how that plays out in our life. I've used this

analogy before. But if you have children, part

of the mark on your children is you as parents.

And that could be said many different ways. People

would be like, man, here come the Holland Donor

boys. All right. Or they could say, here come

the Holland Donor boys. Think more so about how

God says that to you when you show up to work.

Oh, there goes one of mine. Or, oh, there goes

one of mine. See how it's different? Or when

Munster Church gets involved in something. God

looks down. There goes Munster Church. Or, oh

no, there goes Munster Church. You see how it's

different? Reflect God's generosity. When we

give, when we serve, when we love, we are mirroring

the God who gave us his son. And here's the final

point. The story of the rich fool. warned us

about the dangers of what? Hoarding our stuff.

The rich young ruler showed us the weight of

wealth and the tragedy of walking away from Jesus,

of choosing your stuff over the Savior. But here,

today, John 3, 16 through 21, Jesus reminds us

the heart of the gospel, that God is the ultimate

giver. God's economy is not built on scarcity.

It's built on abundance. He's the creator of

all. He doesn't say, do enough and maybe I'll

love you. He says, I have loved you this way.

I gave you my son. So friends, when you have

received that gift, the gift of Christ, you are

already rich beyond measure. That means you can

go. That means you can let go of the world's

barns. We've talked about that. Let go of the

barns that you think you need stored up, stored

up, stored up. You can live in an open -handed

life. You can invest your time and your talents

and your treasures to the work of God's kingdom.

Not to earn his love, but because you already

have it. Let me say that again. We don't give

to earn. We give because it's already been given

to us. And I, when the Holy Spirit met me here

Thursday morning, and here's where this sets

up the series that we're going to start next

week. Over the last couple weeks, right, we've

talked about storing our treasures in heaven,

serving God, not mammon or not man stuff, not

man's wealth, the world's wealth, holding wealth

loosely and being rich toward God. But the question

now is, okay, we've done it. We want to live

this life. We've made the commitment. Now what?

What does a life look like when God generously

is flowing through his people? How does the church

live when it is convinced it belongs to Christ,

body and soul? As Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's

Day 1 says, well, friends, that's exactly where

we're headed, into the book of Acts. Our next

series, Earth, Wind, and Fire, the start of the

church of Christ. will show us a couple things.

It will show us how early church lived out kingdom

economics. They were filled with the Spirit.

They were sharing life, breaking bread, and boldly

carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Because being rich towards God is not just about

letting go of possessions. It's about taking

hold of Christ and letting His Spirit shape your

generous, gospel -centered communities. So let

us leave here today with hearts filled, hands

open, and lives that bear witness to the generosity

of God in Christ. Let's pray.