CALLED TO SHARE

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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When was the last time that you can remember purposefully recounting to the Lord the many ways that God has blessed you in your life? Have you stopped long enough to turn to God and say thank you for the gift of his presence, his grace and mercy, his forgiveness, and his gift of eternal life? The more that we are aware of his many blessings, the more we will want to answer the call of God to share a small portion of these blessings with his church. 

The today’s devotional, we are going to hear some examples of commitment and generosity from the people of the early church. As you read, listen for examples of how these believers were willing to share the many blessings of God with the church.  

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. 

For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.  36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

(Acts 4:32-37 NIV11)

Signs of Commitment

There are some obvious markers of commitment to the mission of Christ and the people of the family of faith to be found in this short summary of the state of the early church. In addition to being unified in their plans and expectations for the church, the followers of Jesus took real action to support one another and the Body of Christ. 

Shared everything 

The people of the church were moved by the Holy Spirit to willingly share their wealth with those called to provide leadership for the church. They chose to invest in the growth and development of the church by sacrificially giving of their own resources. 

At the Apostles’ Feet

Those who were willing to be a blessing with their finances were also willing to trust the leadership of the church to do what was right with the money they made available. 

The image of the church laying their gifts at the feet of the Apostles was intentional. The image carries with it the idea that the giver was releasing control over their gift and allowing the Lord to use their money as the leadership saw fit. 

This shows a real sense of trust in those that the Lord has called to act as overseers in the church. It also shows that the giver of this money was making this gift available to God and not telling the Lord how to spend their offering. 

High Trust

One of the reasons why these sacrificial givers were so willing to release control over their gift was that they had a high level of trust in the Apostles. The people of the church looked to these leaders and saw trustworthy figures who were seeking to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

Trust makes a MASSIVE difference. 

Today

If we are able to trust our church leaders today, then we should consider laying our offerings for the good of the church at the feet of our leadership and not telling them (or the Lord) how to best spend the freewill offering being given. 

Unfortunately, too many people in the church have been burned by leaders who lacked integrity or who refused to be transparent and clear about how their offerings were being used to advance the kingdom of God. 

Tempting

It is tempting to try and exert some control over how your church leaders use the hard-earned money that you are giving to the Lord in the form of your offerings. This kind of “designated” giving is not what the Lord has called his people to do with their offerings. 

We need to trust our church leaders to do right with the gifts that we bring to the Lord through our churches. If we cannot trust the leaders, then maybe it is time to address the lack of integrity rather than be passive-aggressive with our designations. 

Joy

I hope you are able to follow in the footsteps of these early believers as you learn to open your hands and give your tithes and offerings to the Lord freely and without compulsion. 

There is great joy to be found in giving. After all, we have been given so much by God, we will never be able to make a dent in the debt of gratitude that we owe the Lord. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Senior Pastor at PARK HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

Worked at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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