At Gateway Church in Austin, we continued our series called The Way.
Following Jesus is less prescriptive and more descriptive. We are given a general framework by the early disciples of how to live out the teachings of Jesus and follow his way. They are simple, but not easy, they are repeatable but grow more difficult, they allow anyone who believes to choose to follow, and all who remain faithful will grow stronger over time. We are like a tree planted by His waters, we grow strong in Him, and we become an immovable force in God’s kingdom.
Digging Deeper:
Message Video:
Message Notes by Justin McCarty and Eric Bryant:
Ever been gifted something by a child?
When I was just out of college I became a substitute teacher. That was one of the 8 jobs I had in our first year of marriage as I lived in Waco then Fort Worth and then Seattle within a 12 months span.
I learned quickly not to be nice to these cute little kids because they would quickly turn on you. So with my new more serious approach, I was teaching kindergarten kids how to write their D’s. Unfortunately, little Dudley was struggling as I could see him crying during the assignment. And so this was my “Stand and Deliver” moment as a teacher. I mean with a name like Dudley, this little boy had to master the letter “D”!
I went over to help him. I held his hand as he held the pencil and we started doing capital Ds and then lower case ds.
He stopped crying and seemed to gain some confidence.
Later in the day he comes running up to me with a big smile on his face, and he gave me a Valentine’s Day card. Now this was like a week after Valentine’s Day so the timing was a bit off. It was bent up and damaged, and then I read the back of the card as he ran off. It was signed in cursive “Love, Jennifer.” I was confused for a moment only to realize, he didn’t have any present to give to me except a card that had been given to him.
Rather than being disappointed in this re-gifting, I kept that card for years.
When a child gives a gift, no matter what it is – it always comes from the heart. They love to give things to you. Sometimes they will take it back just to experience the joy of giving it to you again! That innate desire reveals what human beings are really like before we are shaped and chipped away at by the systems and culture of this world – before we “learn better.”
At our core, we want to be generous people, but we’re haunted by the prospect that there might not be enough for us – time, money, resources.
We often call that sense of scarcity “the real world.”
Jesus came with a radically different vision of the “real world.” While scarcity is an ever-present force in our human system, he revealed that there’s a much bigger world all around us right here and now. “The Kingdom of God” also known as “The Kingdom of Heaven” is not only a place we go when we die. If we die in Christ we go to be with Jesus. But during His ministry, Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is already here!
So then, what is it?
The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven is a system of life ruled by an incredibly competent & abundant God who cares for and provides for all our needs.
When we bring our life into His kingdom, we transcend that nagging sense of scarcity and self-preservation by tapping into far deeper resources.
As students of Jesus on “The Way,” settle in and listen to what our Teacher tells us in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:19-34 ESV)
Notice all we can learn from Jesus about the Kingdom of God in this passage.
God’s rule and provision is right here, right now.
Jesus hacks at the root of scarcity by upending the assumptions of “the real world” — This idea that we’re on our own without God’s help, or that God doesn’t care.
Reality in God’s Kingdom which is even more real than what we currently experience is actively ruled by our Heavenly Father who is incomprehensibly abundant, always paying attention, and radically generous.
You can trust him – step out of the human kingdom, away from trying to rule your own corner of it, and step into the reality of the kingdom of God. You will find rest in his sufficiency and that is what will enable you to be generous – just like you were as a child.
This is what early followers of Jesus heard.
They trusted him.
They built their life around him and became his students (disciples).
They devoted themselves – they practiced the way of Jesus.
Encapsulated and described by the key verses we’ve been studying for the past 2 weeks:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)
And notice how these early followers of Jesus lived this out…
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NIV)
These first followers of the Way lived stunningly generous lives because they really believed in the God Jesus talked about.
Through a process of discipleship, they came to experientially know Jesus was right – the kingdom of God is here and its resources are accessible to us — and so they turned loose of their lives.
This leads us to a core conviction of Jesus’ disciples and part of The Way we’re clarifying today as we look at the importance of “Giving”:
All we have belongs to God, so we intentionally steward it all as an act of service to God and to others.
This is a core fundamental that never goes away; it becomes an essential part of the flywheel of growth in our lives over the long haul.
Remember in this series we are looking at what it means to really follow Jesus (not just believe in him with our heads but to know Him and follow Him with our hearts). In week one we looked at how the early followers of Jesus gathered together in large groups and in homes. It was when they gathered together that they experienced God’s presence and helped each other along in their relationship with God through Jesus. Last week we looked at how disciples of Jesus grow – spending time with God and with others following Christ in order to become more like Jesus.
Today we are looking at the importance of a life where we give God our time, our relationships, our talents, and our treasure.
How did the early church go from disciples who abandoned Jesus on the night he was arrested to now starting a movement which has lasted more than 2000 years – even when it meant being persecuted, arrested, or even killed for their faith?
They saw Jesus alive! He was risen from the dead! He taught them for 40 days and then 10 days after He ascended to reign over this invisible Kingdom that is expanding on earth one life at a time, the Spirit of God came upon these early disciples! The same power that rose Jesus from the dead came to live within them. The Spirit convicted them to turn back to God when they went their own way. The Spirit empowered them and gifted them and enabled them to live a new way – the way of Jesus.
With the Spirit guiding them, they began to live in this new reality. They began to trust God’s ways were better than the ways of this world.
Think of it like a zip line. Ever ride one of those?
When we let go (surrender) in order to experience the reality of God’s provision — like trusting the rope on a zip line course. The first time you let go and trust yourself to the rope, your emotions & body are screaming at you – “you’re not living in the real world!” but with practice and experience, you become at home in another “real world” where the rope is strong enough to hold you up.
Let me share two foundational action steps on The Way that forge generosity in us – inherently experimental ways of experiencing the reality of God & His Kingdom experiencing the reality of God’s kingdom, which the early followers of Jesus devoted themselves to.
Foundation of Generosity #1: Pray
We’ve been talking a lot about prayer during these weeks of Pray First, but it’s because it’s utterly essential.
Prayer teaches us how God provides, giving us experiential knowledge of God’s faithfulness. It also expands your heart to care for people and needs beyond yourself – you don’t have the power to affect them directly, but God works with you.
To me, this is part of giving your time to God. Spending time with Him so you can be sent out to represent Him to the world around you.
For example, when you watch the news and you feel powerless, remember if you are a follower of Jesus you actually have that same Spirit of God living in you!
Lean into your relationship with God, and He will send you out to make a difference.
Spend time with Him and take all that troubles you to Him. Be open and honest and pray! And as you begin to experience His presence and peace, you can bring His presence and peace with you into the lives of others!
You may not be able to change all the things you see on the news, but you can bring change to your neighbor, your co-worker, your friends, your family, and those God brings into your path.
Acts 2 says they devoted themselves to prayer; regularly scheduled rhythms of prayer – they disciplined themselves to routinely run into their dependence on God and his Father’s heart of provision for them, they didn’t just wait until the last minute.
This practice also enabled them to develop a reflex of spontaneous prayer when they came into contact with a need or issue that was beyond them.
Ever watch a musician improvise on the spot? Or watch an athlete do something on the field or court that they never specifically practiced? That ability to be spontaneous flows from a life of devotion to key practices
A major roadblock that a lot of people run into that stifles prayer goes something like:
“I don’t know the right words or I’m embarrassed to pray in front of others.”
First of all, that’s mostly a matter of practice – fluency simply requires time and practice. But even more importantly, it’s not really about the spiritual or religious words you use, and it’s definitely not about looking the part.
Jesus teaches us:
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’” (Matthew 6:5:13 NIV)
Jesus is saying, “ask God for what you really need.”
God shares his power with us through prayer. As a part of that process, he is shifting and changing our hearts and desire to align more and more with his kingdom, but happens through a daily journey of seeking him and making your requests known. It takes authenticity and vulnerability about your real needs and desires, but that’s precisely what God wants access to.
A woman on our prayer team at Gateway South Austin named Rachael was walking around the mall and saw a young woman. She had this strong impression she needed encouragement. She began to talk with her and discovered she was new to the US and from Turkey. She also had a great deal of pain in her back. Rachael asked Gokce if she could pray for her. She agreed. And after the prayer she felt much better! The two struck up a friendship and Gokce now follows Jesus. A year later, Gokce is in an Uber and discovers the driver was also from Turkey. He was married and their time in the USA had been incredibly difficult. After hearing his story, she invited him to come to our church. He mentioned that he’s an atheist as he grew up in an orphanage after his parents died at the age of eight. He said I don’t believe in God and so there’s no reason to go to church. She encouraged him to come anyway. “If there is no God, what would it hurt? If there is, he can help.”
He came that next Sunday morning. That day we were having a parent baby dedication. He was so moved by that experience that he decided to pray.
Here’s what he texted me:
“At that moment, perhaps for the first time, I prayed. I said, ‘Jesus, if you’re there and you can hear me, please love me too. I’m so weak, so tired, so unhappy. Please give me a new reason to live. Give me a reason so I can believe in you and regain my energy for life.’
When I went home that day, my wife said she wasn’t feeling well. We went to the hospital, and the doctor gave us the news of the biggest miracle in my life. At that moment, it was like all our problems disappeared. I heard the most beautiful sound in my life: the heartbeat of my miracle baby.”
Think about this: that was his first prayer! He’s batting 1000 so far!
Remember: prayer is how we connect with God. It’s how we foster our relationship with Him. We share our hearts and we listen to His response. We are open and honest and declare we trust Him or we ask Him for help to trust Him.
We don’t want to just tell God what to do or ask Him to bless what we have done.
We want to walk with Him knowing that sometimes God answers our prayers with “yes,” “not yet,” or “no.”
As I often like to say when it’s a “not yet” or “no” remember how Tim Keller, a pastor who served for years in New York City described this situation.
“God answers our prayers the way we would if we knew what He knows.”
– Tim Keller
Over time, prayer reveals to us that God is listening, he really does care, he has the power to act – it verifies the reality of the kingdom of God.
A generous life is anchored in a praying life.
Foundation of Generosity #2: Give
While we aren’t just referring to money, money is a great example because it really just represents power, it expands our ability to control things: our circumstances, other people, etc. But when we trust God to give away that power for someone else’s benefit, we thrust ourselves out on the reality of the kingdom of God.
We trust that we aren’t in charge of providing for ourselves – and in so doing, we experience the care and provision of God firsthand. We also find joy and meaning being an avenue of provision for someone else – our heart expands through generosity. Jesus’ early followers quoted him like this:
“(Remember) the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35 NIV)
Like I said though, this isn’t just about money, it’s really more about the grip we have on our lives. So what does it look like to give in the Way of Jesus?
We surrender our time, talent, and treasure to God: This is a posture of the heart. The struggle to be generous with what’s ours comes to an end when we realize it’s not really ours. Everything we have is given to us – the time in our schedules, the talents & gifts we were born with or had the opportunity to develop, and whatever financial resources are available to us.
This surrender is about relaxing into the kingdom of God – it all came from him, which means we can trust and rely on him to help us steward it whatever direction he thinks is best.
We’re going to be okay – God is taking care of us.
We serve others selflessly.
When you become convinced that God is going to provide for you, it’s amazing how much mental and emotional RAM is freed up to think about the needs of others.
You start seeing it everywhere – and perhaps for the first time – you are able to prioritize meeting that need above your own.
This is one of the reasons why we gather in proximity, like we’ve been discussing with Sunday gatherings and Groups – we’ve got to be close enough to each other to perceive and feel the needs of others.
It can also happen through serving on a Team – lots of ways of practicing “serving others selflessly” through service to Kids & families, Students, Guests/Hospitality, and more.
You know, some of you adults could be the cool uncle or the cool aunt in the life of a child or teenager. There’s a certain age when kids stop looking up to their parents as much as they did when they were younger, and to have someone else in their life that follows Jesus and is willing to invest in them and help them along, it makes a tremendous difference! And you end up enjoying it too!
Sometimes it’s the proximity of serving alongside one another that opens our hearts:
Sacrificing for the good of all. When your roots grow deep into the reality of God’s kingdom, when you’ve come to trust “the rope” that’s holding you up from repeated prayer and practice, there will be moments when God invites you to follow the way of Jesus into sacrifice.
He is our Master and one of the clearest examples of his trust in God was the sacrifice of his own life in his crucifixion and death for us while we were still obsessed with ruling our own little kingdoms.
He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. (Romans 5:6-8 MSG)
Jesus didn’t just die for us, he also shows us that sacrifice is the Way of life for those who would follow in his steps.
We may not be called to physically lay down our lives as he did, but the path of sacrifice isn’t optional for followers of Jesus.
If we want to grow to be like him, we will be called to sacrifice what we hold dear for the good of others.
If it required the sacrifice of Jesus for God’s kingdom to break through, it will require our sacrifices for it to continue to break through for others.
Two North groups helped a homeless mom get into a short term rental, pay back pay for missing funds, get a car, buy Christmas presents for her kids and connect to a job again.
A generous life is forged and upheld by intentional acts of giving. Over time, giving what is “ours” away reveals to us that God really does care, he has ample provisions for us and others, we don’t have to hoard anything for ourselves – it verifies the reality of the kingdom of God.
Jesus invites us into that kingdom right here and now, to become like little children again, generous and free of heart – to be his companions on the Way.
When Dudley gave me that used Valentine’s Day card, it did something to me.
It reminded me of how my response to the goodness of God in my life needs to be gratitude.
Even if all I have to give Jesus is my life which may feel damaged, wrinkled, bent, or used up, that’s all He wants. He loves you. He wants you as you are. He wants a relationship with you. Just ask Him to forgive you for going your own way and ask Him to lead you and to help you follow Him as your Lord, the One with ultimate authority in your life, and He will answer that prayer.
And out of gratitude, we give him our time, talent, and treasure. We love and serve Him by loving and serving others.