To Come Down Where We Ought To Be

Genesis 14:17-24

October 12, 2025 (Generosity Sunday) • Mount Pleasant UMC

For the last three weeks, we have been engaged in a time of reflection and challenge centered around the themes of joy, simplicity and generosity. You might remember that, two weeks ago, I asked every one of us to be open to whatever God might say to us, and to ask God to give us the courage to be able to act on what he says. Two weeks ago, I spoke about discerning the difference between needs and wants. And last week, we talked about giving our life to a greater purpose than our own pleasure, how we were made for more. So today, on Generosity Sunday, my task is to bring those themes together as we think about our commitments for the coming year. I’m thinking again about the beginning of that old Shaker song “Simple Gifts:” 

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free

’tis the gift to come down where you ought to be

I love that second line because, s a follower of Jesus, I want to come down where I ought to be. I want to follow wherever he leads me, not just where I think I want to be. So the question for this morning is this: what is God calling us, as a church and as individuals, to do in the coming year?

One of the things I shared last week is that everything in the church should be propelled by the overall mission of the church. The way we use our time, the way we use our space, and the way we use our resources all should be directed and driven by our mission. And what is that mission? If you know it, say it with me: our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. There are three words in that statement that are absolutely vital for understanding who we are and what we do. The first is “disciples.” It’s so easy to get wrapped up in making converts, getting people to pray and the prayer and accept Jesus as their savior. And, yes, absolutely, we are about that. We want people to believe in Jesus. But Jesus’ call to us is not to stop there. Jesus told us to make disciples (Matthew 28:19), not just converts. We want people to love and learn from and follow Jesus in every aspect of their life. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, referred to salvation as the door of the house (Jackson, ed., “Principles of a Methodist Farther Explained,” Works of John Wesley, Vol. VIII, pg. 472). And to get in the house, yes, you have to go through the door. But we were not meant to stay and live in the doorway. We go through the door into the house, which Wesley compared to the act of becoming and being a disciple. That’s where we’re meant to live.

In ancient times, a disciple was someone who had the dust of their rabbi on them; they followed so close that the dust he kicked up got all over them. We want to help people become that kind of disciple, closer to Jesus than they’ve ever been. So the second word is “Jesus.” He is the object of our discipleship; he’s the one we follow closely. He is the one we worship. No one else because, as Jesus himself said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Disciples. Jesus. And the third word is “transformation.” Here’s your word lesson for the day: in the New Testament, the word is metamorphoo, which you can tell is the basis for our word metamorphosis. But it means more than just a change; it means to take on the likeness of the one you’re becoming like. It’s the same word that is used to describe that time when Jesus was transfigured and the disciples saw a glimpse of his glory (cf. Mark 9:2). So when we talk about the transformation of the world, we envision disciples of Jesus who change the world to help it become more like the world God intended when he created it. And yes, that’s a huge mission, but as I said last week, anything less than that is too small a mission for a church like Mount Pleasant.

So we are making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And we are doing that in three ways: love God, love people, love life. We love God through worship and study of his word. We love people by serving others and doing what Jesus would do. He washed feet on his last night with the disciples and told them (and us) to do the same (cf. John 13:14). Jesus said he came to serve, not to be served (cf. Matthew 20:28). That’s how we love others. And we love life. The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy; Jesus said he came to give us life abundant, life overflowing (cf. John 10:10). Life is a gift, and it is something that should be lived to the full. Christians ought to be the people on the planet who celebrate life the most. A sour, angry, bitter Christian is an oxymoron. We want others to see in us the joy of the Lord. Now, that’s not to say we “fake it till we make it” when bad things happen. If you’ve been here any length of time, you’ve heard me affirm that life is hard. Jesus himself said we would have trouble (cf. John 16:33). But even in the midst of trouble, even when we go through times when we shed tears, we have an unwavering confidence that Jesus has overcome the world. Even in suffering, even in mourning, even in pain and difficulty, God is working. He doesn’t cause it but he uses it. Love God, love people, love life—that’s how we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Friends, I keep telling you and I firmly believe that our best days are still ahead of us. For me, this is a mission I can give my life to. This is a mission I can align my resources behind. This is a mission that is higher and better than simply serving myself. This is a mission that gives me joy. What happens here is ultimately not about buildings or properties or styles of worship or fellowship dinners. What happens here is about people—people making a connection to Jesus. That’s a mission that’s worth getting behind, and when we come to this Generosity Sunday, that’s the reason we’re asking all of us to make a financial commitment to the work and ministry of Christ through this church for 2026. If we believe in the mission, then we align our resources to support what we believe is important. The question we have to consider is this: is the mission of this church important enough that we’re willing to give what we have to see that mission accomplished?

There are, however, two fears that war within our lives. The first fear is that we won’t have enough, the fear of scarcity, and that leads us to the practice of hoarding. When I was growing up, my dad’s oldest sister was one of those people who meant the world to my brother and I. Aunt Helen and Uncle Gene’s house was one of those places we were always welcome. We never had to knock; we knew we could just walk in. They never had children of their own, so Doug and I were kind of like their kids, too. After they both passed away, my dad was the executor of the estate, so Doug and I were drafted into helping when the day of the estate sale came. We found things in that house that had been stuffed away “just in case.” We found food at the bottom of the freezer that had been there for fifteen to twenty years. We found so much stuff that Doug and I told our folks that when they’re gone, we’re selling the house “as is” just so we don’t have to sort stuff—because they’ve been in their house 61 years! But, you see, Aunt Helen was like a lot of us. She stored stuff away “just in case.” The food in the freezer could have fed someone, but by the time we found it, it was no good. Aunt Helen was never without, and but there was the ever-present fear of scarcity that haunts a lot of us. Here’s the reality: hoarding causes others to go without. The second fear is known as FOMO—the fear of missing out. It’s this idea that if we give, we might miss out on something. Our culture tells us that happiness lies in having everything so we end up focusing on self-gratification (Hamilton, Enough, pgs. 76-77). But do we have to have everything that we want? Whose life does self-gratification really change?

The answer to those fears is found in the practice of extravagant generosity. You probably know the name John D. Rockefeller, the powerful founder of Standard Oil. Rockefeller made his first million by the time he was 33. Money, power, acquisition—that’s what made up his life. Then, when he was 53 years old, he came down with a strange and rare illness that ravaged his body and his physical health. The doctors told him he had one year to live. Fifty-three years old, at the height of his power, and he was given a year to live. Rockefeller slid into depression and sleeplessness, and in the middle of one of those sleepless nights, he began to think maybe he had missed the point. Maybe life was about more than making money and acquiring things. The next day, Rockefeller had a new mission: to make a difference in the world. And to that end, he began to give away hundreds of millions of dollars. He funded hospitals, universities, medical research along with church and mission projects. Many of the cures to diseases owe their debt to Rockefeller’s funding. Many others came to know Jesus because he of the mission he funded. And Rockefeller did not die in a year; in fact, he lived to be ninety-eight years old. Is it possible that his life was saved when he gave himself and his resources to a mission and a calling bigger than himself?

Maybe that’s what Solomon meant when he wrote those words in Proverbs: “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed” (11:25). The imagery behind that language is of a well, which can pump “an endless supply of water into the gardens of others while continually having more than enough for its own” (Hubbard, Communicator’s Commentary: Proverbs, pg. 167). And remember that the Holy Land is largely a desert; Solomon’s image of sharing the water was an act of trust that God would provide enough for everyone. Rockefeller found that to be true; sharing what he had resulted in many lives being changed for the better—and he did not go without. Generosity blesses all who are involved.

Long before Solomon wrote those words, there was a strange man who briefly wanders in and out of the pages of Scripture, a man who laid down a principle that continues to be held by the people of God. Abram had been in a battle, rescuing his nephew Lot from a bad situation. And after the battle, this shadowy figure appears. His name is Melchizedek, which means “King of Righteousness,” and he is the King of Salem, which we know better by its later name, Jerusalem. It’s a city whose name means “peace,” (shalom would be the Hebrew way you say “Salem”). Melchizedek is king, but he is also priest (Briscoe, Communicator’s Commentary: Genesis, pg. 139), and he brings a gift to Abram—bread and wine, interesting choices—and the assumption is that they share this bread and wine there, near the city of peace. In that place, following victory in battle, they worship. “Praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand” (14:20). And then, Genesis says, “Abram gave him a tenth of everything” (14:21). Abram tithed to this king of righteousness. Contrast that with the king of Sodom, who comes to Abram next. In Genesis, Sodom often represents everything that’s wrong the world. For Abram to identify with Sodom would have been to identify with the world, with the broken way of doing things, and so when the King of Sodom asks Abram to basically affirm him, Abram refuses. He cannot allow himself to get involved in a situation where anyone less than God receives the glory for what happens (Briscoe 138). Abram’s choice is to put his resources and his reputation in a place that will bring God glory.

Throughout the Bible, then, the tithe becomes a standard of giving. In the Old Testament, there was a whole tribe of Israel, the Levites, who were not given land because their job was to be the spiritual leaders of the people. The people gave their tithes so that the Levites could do their job, enabling the Temple to be a place of worship for all people all the time. The people were called to give in order to support a mission bigger than themselves. And the story is the same in the New Testament. In fact, Jesus affirms the offerings to the Temple, and the apostle Paul goes beyond a simple tithe. Paul seems to say that a tithe is where we start; it’s a floor, not a ceiling. To the Corinthians, Paul writes, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Paul says it’s not the amount we give, it’s the attitude we give with. As we learn the joy of generosity, as we learn the sheer joy of giving, we will become cheerful givers. In fact, the word he uses there is literally “hilarious.” We will become hilarious givers. Can you imagine yourself that way? To come down where we ought to be is to arrive at a place where we no longer give because we have to; we give because we want to, because we have thrown our lot in wholeheartedly with Jesus and his mission. That’s when giving becomes a delight.

But I could talk all day and not be able to convince you of that here [IN THE HEAD]. It’s really a matter of the heart. I can only tell you my experience, and a lot of this I’ve shared before. I grew up in a home where faithful giving to the church was assumed. My mom and dad modeled that for us. The first job I had was passing newspapers for the Lafayette Journal and Courier, but the first time I remember being convicted about giving was when I detasseled corn for a summer. I remember one particular Sunday when I had just gotten my check for $600. That was more money than I had ever had at one time that belonged to me, and wouldn’t you know that Sunday my pastor preached on tithing. God has a sense of humor. But ten percent of $600…that was $60. I wasn’t willing to part with that much money all at once. I don’t remember what I gave, but I know it wasn’t $60 and it might have been nothing. Over the next few years, I didn’t earn that much, but I gave some here and there, and it wasn’t until I was in seminary that God began speaking to me about my giving. We didn’t have a lot of money, but I sure seemed to have enough for what I wanted to buy. That started to bother me. So Cathy and I decided we needed to be faithful to the church, and for me, as I said last week, that meant writing that check first so I didn’t spend it on other stuff. We still didn’t have a lot of money in those days, but I will tell you that we always had enough. I remember, particularly when we were at Asbury, many times the numbers didn’t make sense on paper. It didn’t make sense to give ten percent away. But we did, we have, we do, and God is faithful. We have always had enough.

Quick aside: we don’t give so that we get something, like the TV preachers promise you. We give out of gratitude and faithfulness toward a God who has been so very faithful to us. We give in order to join God on God’s mission through this local church. We give so that people can become disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We give as an affirmation of our commitment to love God, love people and love life. We give because He gave.

So this morning, you have a chance to respond. I’m going to ask the ushers to distribute the pledge cards right now and we are going to take some time to walk through them. [EXPLAIN THE PLEDGE CARD] Now, let me say this: as you’re prayerfully considering what to give, I want to share a little bit about the current state of our finances. As April shared a couple of weeks ago, we have had enough this year to pay our bills. Sometimes we are over budget and sometimes we are under, but it all seems to come out pretty even at the end. We are thankful for your faithfulness in that. But I’ve got to be honest: currently there’s not much left over in order to do new things, to expand ministries, or to pay our staff more. Our staff has been great about staying in the budget, and doing ministry with what we have. But how much more could we do, what more could we accomplish, if we had the resources? When we give, our church shouldn’t be an afterthought. If God’s mission is important, God’s mission should be our first thought.

One more thing: sometimes I’m asked why we fill out pledge cards. If I just give, isn’t that good enough? Yes, certainly, but, as I think I tell you every year, the reason I fill out a pledge card is that I want my church to know I’m standing with them. For me, making a pledge is a concrete way for me to say that I’m on board with the mission. It doesn’t mean if you don’t pledge we think you’re not on board. I’m assuming if you’re in this place regularly, you’re on board with the mission. But for me, filling out a pledge card is a way I can let the church leadership know for sure that I’m in. So this morning, we have a chance to do that during the final song. As we sing in just a few moments, I’ll invite you to come forward and place your pledge card on the steps as an act of worship. And together, we will make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. But before we make those commitments and pledges, let’s pray.