October 20, 2019 | River Deep, Mountain High - Guided by The Spirit | Rev. Gary Gibson | Sanctuary

Across Northern Africa stretches the largest desert in the world, the Sahara, almost as large as the United States. From east to west, it measures thirty two hundred miles, farther than the distance from New York to San Francisco.

Mile after mile of scorching, shifting, sand dunes make up the Sahara, where temperatures reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer –so hot that breathing is nearly impossible. Yet at the eastern edge of this mammoth oven lies one of the richest, most fertile valleys know to human kind –the Nile Valley.

Flowing through the valley is the great Nile River, the longest river in the world. It was not the river alone that made the valley so abundantly fertile. It was the fact that prior to the building of the Ashwan Dam, the Nile river overflowed each year generously depositing all over the valley layer upon layer of rich tropical soil, washed down from the jungles of Central Africa.

What the Nile did until it was contained is a picture of our Proverbs verses: A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water. It is when your heart overflows generously that you are enriched to the point of life being meaningful. It is when your heart overflows generously that you provide refreshing water for all the parched lives around you.

Some of the sharpest teachings in Scripture are about money. For example, the incident of the widow’s mite, the parable of the talents, the alabaster box, and other stories, deal with money. In the early church the tragedy which overcame Ananias and Sapphira was a money matter and an example of how many who started out to follow Christ fell out over money and its use.

Our dilemma is easily stated. The church cannot do without money. This was true from the first and is increasingly true in our economy which is a “money” economy. But the church also teaches that money can be (note I didn’t say “is”) the root of all evil. We find ourselves balancing our focus between wanting to provide everything we can through our ministries and being able to pay the bills. History reminds us of times when the church exploited its people by setting up a church culture that promoted the selling of indulgences. When the church gives her heart away to money, she offers a false witness. Last week we talked about our consistent presence in the church enabling us to discern truth from false teaching. That discernment will also tell us when the church’s bank balance is more important to us than what we are doing to bring in the kingdom. Of course, this brings us around to the original dilemma. The church cannot do without money.

The church tends to apologize for her need of money, but we shouldn’t have to do that. You understand, I’m sure, that everybody doing their part keeps us afloat and allows us to support our ministries. We are deliberately not using a money focus story from the Bible today. Rather than talk about the actual dollars, we want to talk about generosity of a spiritual nature.

Leonard Bernstein once said: “I fully confess that nothing exists in this life of ours until or unless I can share it with others. Sharing, if I may be so bold, is the whole meaning of my life, whether it be with one single person or five or five million.”

When we are generous with our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, the church will always be able to pay its bills. And we will be a congregation filled with glad and generous hearts.