You will always be rich enough to be generous.

My good friend Gordon Patterson, minister at New Hope Baptist Church told me of a year he spent in mission work in Kenya. He said that on one occasion, he visited a home and that on leaving was presented with a coke bottle full of goat's milk. This was the best gift his hosts could afford.

Jesus remarks about the single penny a woman puts in the offering at the temple. It was the best gift she could afford. Both these examples were of extravagant generosity. It is not the amount that is the issue, it is extent to which these poor people went to be generous. No matter how poor you are, you will always be rich enough to be generous.

Paul says, "he who supplies seed to the sower will increase your supply of seed and increase your harvest as well." The obvious caveat is, "if you plant what you have."

You know the story of the two lakes of the Holy Land.
The first is the northern lake of Galilee. Sometimes called the Sea of Galilee in the north. In Hebrew its name is Yam Kinneret.
It is watered from the Jordan River and underground springs. It is rich in . . .

You will always be rich enough to be generous.
My good friend Gordon Patterson, minister at New Hope Baptist Church told me of a year he spent in mission work in Kenya. He said that on one occasion, he visited a home and that on leaving was presented with a coke bottle full of goat's milk. This was the best gift his hosts could afford.

Jesus remarks about the single penny a woman puts in the offering at the temple. It was the best gift she could afford. Both these examples were of extravagant generosity. It is not the amount that is the issue, it is extent to which these poor people went to be generous. No matter how poor you are, you will always be rich enough to be generous.

Paul says, "he who supplies seed to the sower will increase your supply of seed and increase your harvest as well." The obvious caveat is, "if you plant what you have."

You know the story of the two lakes of the Holy Land.
The first is the northern lake of Galilee. Sometimes called the Sea of Galilee in the north. In Hebrew its name is Yam Kinneret.
It is watered from the Jordan River and underground springs. It is rich in aquatic life and supported a commercial fishery as we know from the gospels. For centuries it has been the center of commercial and cultural life. It supported many towns.

Just to the south, deep in the rift valley, is the second lake. It is known as The Dead Sea.
It also is watered by the very same water as Kinneret, but in contrast it is virtually lifeless.
No fish can live in it because of its extreme salt concentration, much higher than sea water. In fact it is the most mineral laden body of water in the world.

The reason the dead sea is the way it is, is because all the water that flows into it, stays there. There is no outlet from the dead sea except by evaporation. All the water that has flowed down the Jordan River into the Dead sea stays there until it evaporates and leaves behind whatever has dissolved in the river water.

The Sea of Galilee, or Yam Kinneret by contrast is fed by the same water, but lives because what flows in, also flows out.

The same truth applies spiritually. We renew ourselves not by what we acquire, but by what we give.

God has given us all some seed.

You have the Seed, you just need to plant it.

God supplies us with many kinds of seed for planting:
We have our time which we can give to others.
We have our friendship which we can share.
We have forgiveness to go around.

Furthermore, whatever it is we need in life, we already have some of that which we can plant.
What is it you are lacking, in your judgment?
Plant some of what you already have.
The principle is ridiculously simple.
You need corn.....plant some.
You need beans...plant some.
You need friendship... give some.
You need retirement income...invest some.

In the inner harbor of Amsterdam, the bastion of capitalism  and commerce is a motto engraved on a centuries old building.
It says, "First comes the investment, then comes the harvest."
God taught the Hebrews the same lesson in the wilderness with the manna they gathered every day. What you try to hang onto will spoil. God will always give you enough.

God has given us an inside tip: Worldly wealth is time dated.

Valerie will confirm that I am among the world's worst at not throwing out things when their "best before" date expires.
So what if the aspirins are ten years old?
Do those dates really mean anything anyway?
One time it did.
I took some yogurt with me one day and planned to have it for lunch, which I did.
Half way through the afternoon I told the people I was with that I was coming down with severe abdominal flu and had to go home immediately. I didn't make it past the first restroom.

On closer inspection, I noticed my yogurt was six months old. To me yogurt was just as good no matter what the date said, but I found out it wasn't.

And God has told us that this world and its goods is time dated. Once the expiry date has past, its worthless.
God tells us in 2 Peter chapter 3 that our world is headed for total destruction. He says a thousand years is like a day to God, but that He will keep his promise on this.

In the 1920's we know that money in Weimar Germany became worthless. People would exchange a wheelbarrow of cash for a loaf of bread. Suppose you were given a tip that your currency was going to become worthless?
Would you hang onto it?
You would exchange it as fast as you could for what would retain its value. In Berlin 1920's that would have been gold.

God has given each one of us seed to plant.
But whether we know the date of the end of the world or not, we all know that each one of us is dated. We just don't know the date. But beyond the date, our seed is worthless to us unless we plant it.

You will always be rich enough to be generous.
Through your giving, your continually refresh yourself.
God will replenish what we give, not what we hoard.
There is a "best before" date for us all. Use it while it is still useable.

You have the seed.
Plant it.

Preached October 23, 2005
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian Church
Victoria, British Columbia