Nov 3, 2013 ... After a little while, and a few phone calls, Dad would load it all back up, ... Marisa
and I were heading over here we tried to sell our car. All of the ...
Its Worth What Someone Will Give Preached at Dunedin Church of Christ on November 3 2013
My Dad is the wisest man with money I have ever met. I have never seen
anyone who has an eye for the value of something like my Dad. It used to make me crazy when I was a kid because my Dad would save everything, and I, being his son/lackey, was responsible for doing all the sorting. In my eyes, everything he hauled home was junk, but to him he could see the value. In fact, taking something that everyone else perceived to be worthless or junk and selling it for a profit was my Dad’s favorite thing to do. He did electrical work for a big industrial company that, when they finished with something like a giant pile of steel pieces, would ask my Dad if he would haul it away. Sometimes they would even pay him to. Everyone would then mock Dad because he would haul all this junk home and pile it in a field by my house. After a little while, and a few phone calls, Dad would load it all back up, drive away, and come back with a wad of cash. I remember doing these junk runs with my Dad and I would always ask him what the various items were worth. He would reply with this: “Well, it’s worth what someone will give you for it.” I always got annoyed at that answer, because I wanted to make sure that my efforts helping him move it weren’t in vain, but the more I heard it and though about it, the more I realized just how true of a statement it was. Well, it’s worth what someone will give you for it. 1. Exploring Worth
Some of you may have never thought about that before. Yet, when we
examine the way we buy and sell things, it’s interesting just how true it is. How many of you think that you have a good handle on what things are worth? If you think you do then let’s play a little game. In the states we have a website named Ebay. Many of you have probably heard of Ebay and have even purchased or sold something on Ebay before. For those of you who don’t know, Ebay is an online auction where you bid, sort of like TradeMe, on the item until you win it. Let’s look at some items that I found that sold on Ebay. When I show you the item, you tell me how much you think it’s worth.
It’s Worth What Someone Will Give 1
Its Worth What Someone Will Give a. Ebay i. Little but a lot 1. IPhone 5s 32GB Black: $959.99 2. ESV Thinline Bible: $29.99 3. A man sold a “month of friendship” on eBay promising two emails a week, phone calls and text messaging. The final bid reached almost 2,000. 4. Piece of bubble gum that Britney Spears allegedly chewed sold for 14,000 dollars. ii. A lot but a little
It also goes the other way around. I have had things on Ebay that I have tried
to sell, and they don’t even come close to what I think that they are worth. When Marisa and I were heading over here we tried to sell our car. All of the books and online quotes that we got said that our car was worth $8,500. However, when we tried to sell it, we couldn’t get anywhere close to that. We had a dealership offer us $4,000. We thought that was crazy, but to them, the car was only worth $4,000. We eventually sold our car for a little more then that. But we found out through that process that even though we were told our car worth $8,500, whether we liked it or not, it wasn’t. b. Worth Examined
Recently with all this buying and selling that Marisa and I have been doing
with our move, we have had to make a lot of decisions about what we are willing to give and to take for different things. We have been asking questions like, “Is this fridge worth $200?” Well, to someone who has a fridge, no, but to Marisa and I, who like cold milk, yes, I would say it’s worth it. But all this has got me thinking a lot about worth.
I looked up the definition of worth and found it a little funny. Webster
defines worth as “The level at which something or someone deserves to be valued at.” I laughed a bit and said to myself, ”that’s not what I have found out to be true.” You see, after moving and my first car sale, those words that my dad told me while I It’s Worth What Someone Will Give 2
Its Worth What Someone Will Give was growing up started to make more and more sense. Worth is not based on what we believe something “deserves” as a value. At the end of the day, the only way that we can measure the worth or value of something is by what someone is willing to do or give in exchange for it.
Let’s take this a step further and ask a very hard question. This question has
been asked by, I would venture to say, virtually every human being that has ever lived. It’s a question that a lot of us have battled viciously with. What are you worth? Well, if we go by Webster’s definition of worth and ask the question, “What do we ‘deserve’ to be valued at,” we may be disappointed. In fact, I believe that the reason many people today are so unhappy is because of this way of looking at self worth. We all fail, we all fall short of perfection, and at the end of the day we don’t “deserve” a very high value. I have good news, though, news that I think has the power to change this community and the world. Our value is not based on what we “deserve.” Our worth is based on what was given for each and every one of us. We all have immense worth, and we do because of what was paid for us. Jesus, God in the Flesh, gave it all for us. 2. Jesus shows our worth to him in what he did for us.
Romans 5:8 says, 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is a verse that we have all heard before, but it encapsulates what we just talked about. God found us of such great worth that he came and died for us. He did so while we were still sinners, showing no sign of repentance. This isn’t the only verse, by far, that speaks of our great worth to God. In fact, the entirety of scripture is a beautiful story of God’s love for humanity.
John 3:16 is another one of my favorite verses that speaks of what God gave
in exchange for us. In fact, this is a verse that we hear quite a bit. So much so that I would venture to say that each and every one of you can recite it by heart. So if you would, recite it with me. “ For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whomever should believe in him, will not perish but have everlasting life.”
It’s a beautiful verse, is it not? We read verses like this, and even have them
memorized, but do we ever stop and think about what they mean? It is almost It’s Worth What Someone Will Give 3
Its Worth What Someone Will Give absurd what these verses tell us about God and his actions towards humanity. In fact, let’s slow down and think about this. God, as we have talked about, is three in one. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three beings make up one God who is Holy and perfect in every way. Then, out of his perfection and great love, God creates man in his image. He loves man, and he shares closeness, even walks with man, like a father walks with his son. He loves man so much that he gives him the ability to choose…to choose whether or not to walk with him in this closeness. However, man chooses to rejects the image of the creator, something that man still does to this day. This then begins to separate man from the Holy Creator with a barrier of filthy sin. You see, that which is Holy cannot walk in the presence of sin without destroying it. This breaks God’s heart. His creation, man, who once walked with God, is now incapable of being with him because they rejected him. But God, in his Holiness, instead of destroying man, seeks to renew the closeness that was once shared. So Jesus/God does the unthinkable. Philippians 2:6-‐8 says that Jesus, “who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in human appearance as a man, humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.”
It’s like Aaron said the other day, there was no safety net under Jesus. There
was no guarantee that as he humbled himself, he would not be trapped in the same filth that ensnares humanity, permanently separating Him from God. But he didn’t. He was perfect, and because of his obedience unto a humiliating and painful death, we are saved. You see, there was a debt that had to be paid. The wages of sin is death. There is no way around that. We sinned, and therefore we were set on a pathway to death. The only way off this path was a perfect sacrifice. God saw that there was no way for us, being tainted and imperfect, to ever become that for ourselves. So he became that sacrifice for us. Praise God that our value is not based on what we “deserve.” Praise God that our worth is based on what was given for each and every one of us. And praise God that he “so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whomever should believe in him, will not perish but have everlasting life.” It’s Worth What Someone Will Give 4
Its Worth What Someone Will Give 3. How do we show what Jesus is worth to us?
So there we have it. You know what was given for you, you know what you
are worth, now comes your part. You see, the same applies to our actions. As we have said, the worth of something is measured by what is given in exchange for it. Now I ask you, “What is Jesus worth to you?” Turn in your Bible with me to Luke 14: 25-‐35, because I want you to have this in front of you as we look at these verses. 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If
anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and
estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he
first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. 34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty
again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’’
First let’s take a look at verses 25-‐35. Jesus is saying here that we need to be
fully committed. There is no place for a fence sitter in the kingdom of God. We cannot have one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world. We are either in or out. He is not literally telling us to hate our families or own life. That would contradict all that he says and teaches us about love. No, Jesus is saying that if anything, even something he intended to be a blessing to us, takes precedence over It’s Worth What Someone Will Give 5
Its Worth What Someone Will Give following him, then we cannot be a disciple. If it does, essentially we are saying that that item or person is worth more to us than being a disciple of God.
These verses have hit me harder this past year than ever before. Let me tell
you why. Marisa and I came here last summer and spent two months with you all. God used those two months to alter the direction of our lives. You see, when we were here, we fell in love with all of you and with the community of Dunedin. We found that some of the things that we were good at were things that God could use to further the kingdom in Dunedin. Through the events leading up to those two months, as well as all that happened while we were here, God made it very clear that he wanted us here. When we headed back to the states, we did so with a very important question on our minds. How much is God’s work, all of you, and the community here in Dunedin worth to us? Is it worth more than time with my father, who is also my best friend? Is it worth more than seeing my sisters graduate from high school and college? Is it worth more than seeing the children that our siblings and friends might have while we are away? Is it worth more than possibly having our children close to their grandparents? The answer for us was yes. All of you, and the work God is doing here in this town and country, was worth more to us than all of that. We also knew that if we didn’t go, no matter how hard it was, that we would be pulling a Jonah, and we didn’t want God to have to bring us over here by way of fish; the 18 hours of flight were bad enough. We need to remember that if we are disciples of the one true God, at the top of our list of priorities must only and ever be God.
Next let’s take a look at verses 28-‐33. Here we essentially have two parables
that Jesus uses to teach us about the cost of being a disciple. I don’t know about you, but in the past as I have read this section, often I have been a little confused at these two stories and how they relate to the cost of being a disciple. However, as I started to dig into these two parables, I was blown away.
Take the first one, which was always easier for me to understand. Here we
have a builder who doesn’t count the cost of construction on a new building, and so runs out of money. As the building sits unfinished, the man’s foolishness is revealed to everyone who sees it. Ok, that part makes sense. What Jesus is saying here is that It’s Worth What Someone Will Give 6
Its Worth What Someone Will Give if we have not counted the cost and found that Christ is worth more than anything else, then we are foolish. But more than just a warning against being made to look a fool, this is a warning to those of us who at times claim to be Christians, building up mansions and treasures in heaven, but have not realized that the cost of construction is everything we have here on earth. Again, we are either in or out.
The next parable has always been a little harder to understand. What does a
king and his men have to do with me being a disciple? Well, in this parable Jesus then talks about a king who counts everyone he has and see that it is not enough. The king then, out of wisdom, asks the one who is coming for terms of peace. What does that have to do with the cost of being a disciple? Well just like the king who counted everyone he had and came up short, everything that we have to give to God is not enough. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give it. As we have seen, God requires all of our hearts. However, we are reminded again that all we have is not enough. It is only by the power of the free gift that God gave to us that we can have peace. He offers us terms of peace even though he has every right and power to destroy us, and our measly defenses wouldn’t stand a chance. Yet, when we send out a delegate and ask for peace, God grants it. In fact, it was really the other way around… God saw there was no way for us to win on our own, so He sent a delegate to us. The one who has the power and right to destroy sends out a delegate to beg us to accept terms of peace so he doesn’t have to destroy us. It’s funny how that ties back in with the worth he must place on us.
Then we come to verses 34-‐35, where Jesus warns those of us who count
ourselves as disciples to guard ourselves so that we are found worthy. He reminds us to guard against the loss of our saltiness. Just as God designed salt to be salty, he designed humans in his own image. That means that our essence is that of God. We were designed to have Godly attributes like love, patience, wisdom, and a spirit of forgiveness. But when we neglect those and lose the essence of who we were designed to be, we are worse than useless. We are neither fit for the kingdom or for the world, and we will be thrown out and destroyed. It doesn’t get any clearer than that for a warning to us. “Those of you who have ears to hear,” Jesus says, “let them hear.” It’s Worth What Someone Will Give 7
Its Worth What Someone Will Give
So I ask you the question again, “What is your faith worth to you, and what
are you willing to give for it?” Is it worth more then your parents, family, kids, time, money, attitude, and pride? Is it worth more than your own life, like the story Aaron told us a few weeks ago about the house church in Russia that was meeting when all of a sudden, the police broke in, with guns drawn, and told them to renounce their faith or pay the price? Are you willing to pay the price? Because the price is everything. The price is putting God at the very top or our list, and making him more important than anything here on this earth. That is our goal, what we were created as a church to do, what we were created as humans to do. Let us strive to give of ourselves in such a way as to show the world just how valuable our God is. Closing •
Invitation
Most of us have accepted the free gift of salvation that God offers, and for
those of you who haven’t, I encourage you to. I encourage you to believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God and that his life was given in exchange for you to get to spend eternity in heaven, in the presence of your creator. I encourage you to repent and turn away from the world and turn towards God, then have your sins forgiven and washed away in baptism, thus counting yourself with Christ, and living as he commands. I love the words of Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-‐5 when he talks about this gift and says, “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
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