The man hadn’t been heard from in months. He had gone to the interior of Africa to try to reach heretofore-unreached people with the message of Christ. He was a not only a missionary, he was a doctor and an explorer, combining all of his interests and training to find new people to reach for Christ. (In the process he was the first white man to see a spectacular waterfall that he named Victoria Falls.) He hadn’t been heard from in a long time; was he still alive? In 1869 a reporter for the New York Herald named Henry Stanley was sent on an expedition to find the missionary, if possible.

Finally in October 1871, after a long search, Stanley found the missionary near Lake Tanganyika. Stanley greeted the white man, who was standing among a group of Africans, with the now-famous greeting, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.”

Dr. Livingstone was in poor health and his supplies were dangerously low. Stanley got more supplies for the doctor-missionary so that he was able to continue his work, part of which was to discover the source of the Nile. Dr. Livingstone died in 1873, and his body is now laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.

What possessed a brilliant man like Dr. Livingstone to leave the comforts of civilization and live in far-from-ideal, even dangerous, conditions?

Dr. Albert Schweitzer is another example of a brilliant and gifted man who lost himself in Africa. By the age of 29 he had authored three books and had made valuable contributions in the fields of music, religion, and philosophy. He was a great organist and an expert on Bach. He was a pastor, a professor, and a medical doctor — yet he spent most of his adult life serving the people of Africa as a missionary.

Livingstone and Schweitzer both believed in a core value that we should hold, too: the belief that giving leads to real living. It’s one of the ten core values we’re examining in our current sermon series. The principle is found throughout the Bible, and it’s obvious in the life and teachings of Jesus.

JESUS’ PARTY PRINCIPLE
Jesus was invited to a dinner that was hosted by a prominent Pharisee. The Pharisees were highly respected, and they had friends in high places. If there were newspapers then with a society page, this dinner probably would have made the papers.

The Pharisee didn’t invite Jesus because he considered Jesus to be a friend. Our text says, “One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.” (Luke 14:1) Obviously the Pharisee was trying to figure Jesus out — or maybe trying to find a way to discredit Him. The text says that Jesus “noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, . . .” (Luke 14:7) Jesus gave a piece of advice to his host — and that advice, which went beyond etiquette for hosting a party, revealed Jesus’ view of the way we should live our lives. Jesus told His host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.” (Luke 14:12) We very likely might respond, “But that’s how the system works, isn’t it? You invite someone and then some time later you get invited . . . .”

What did Jesus have in mind? Jesus continued His advice to the Pharisee: “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:13-14) (This obviously isn’t advice from Miss Manners!)

Jesus was essentially calling for a way of living where you’re a giver, not a taker; a producer, not a consumer. At a hobby fair there are people offer what they’ve made; they’re producers. There are also people there to buy what has been produced; they’re consumers. We’re meant to live with an emphasis on being producers, not consumers. Our emphasis isn’t supposed to be on what we can get out of life; it’s supposed to be on what we can contribute.

This is to be a core value of our lives: to be producers, not consumers; givers more than takers, seeking to serve rather than to be served. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:43) Jesus is only asking us to be like Him. He went on to say, “For even the Son of Man [Jesus’ nickname for Himself] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

A common response we’re tempted to make (and I believe it is a temptation) is “Yeah, but what about my needs?” We live in an era where the mantra many people live by is “I have to take care of myself.” This is in sharp contrast to the way Jesus said we should live.

Does this mean that we shouldn’t take care of ourselves? No; even Jesus went away and rested, and He had His disciples do the same. The important thing is your motive for taking care of yourself. If you’ve ever traveled on an airplane, you know the routine instructions you’re given about the oxygen masks. If you’re traveling with a child, whose mask should you put on first — yours or the child’s? Of course it’s yours, but not because your first concern is for yourself. It’s because you don’t want to risk passing out before you can get an oxygen mask put on the child. Something that appears to be a way of looking out for yourself first is really motivated by a higher concern for the child’s safety. We do have to take care of ourselves, and sometimes we have to say no to things. We should take breaks and vacations and time off. If we’re following Christ’s lead, we do those things in order to ultimately carry out His work of serving others more effectively than if we didn’t take care of ourselves.

What if we don’t see any positive results? Well, that’s not supposed to be our motivation. As part of His advice for the Pharisee, Jesus added, “And you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:14) Someday — at the very latest in God’s heaven — you’ll have your reward.

In other words, we need to take the long view of things when we consider the benefits of living as producers instead of consumers. Here’s one way to get a grasp of this concept. In 1986 Microsoft stock was available to the public. Knowing then what we know now, if you were given $5,000 in 1986 would you spend the money on an early IBM computer and Microsoft software to run it? Or would you invest it in Microsoft stock? If you bought the computer and software for your immediate personal enjoyment, by now you would have sold it on a garage sale or it would be stored in the attic. If you had invested the $5,000 in Microsoft stock — well, let’s just say you’d have made a wise investment!

We’re meant to live for Christ in such a way that we seek to serve Him by serving others — even when there’s little or no apparent immediate benefit to us. Ultimately it will work out better for us to invest rather than consume, because Jesus is bigger than Bill Gates, and the Kingdom of God is bigger than Microsoft! How do we invest in the life God has given us?

THE THREE T’S
Time: God often calls us to “waste” time by spending it in ways that interrupt what we’d really rather be doing or were planning to do. God’s appointments often seem to be interruptions. Time, like money, can only be spent once; unlike money, it can’t be borrowed or saved. It’s something you have to use at the moment, and that’s what makes it so precious. Sometimes we have to give the gift of time. There’s an old story about a student in the Congo who loved his missionary teacher very much and decided to give him a special Christmas gift. He knew about a lake a long way off where a certain type of shell could be found. The student traveled to the lake, found such a shell, came back, and gave it to his teacher. He told his teacher, “Long journey part of gift.” Time and effort are often ways we serve.

Talent: God has gifted us all in one way or another. Each of us is unique (as we reflected on last week). When we take Christ into our lives, He comes bearing spiritual gifts. They’re gifts that are meant to be given to others; they’re gifts designed to keep on giving! Invest in the lives of others in ways that you’re uniquely suited to because of your interests and strengths.

Treasure: Each of us is called to invest our money in some things that aren’t what we’ll personally enjoy. The apostle Paul instructed us, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) Just before that he wrote, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6) The only Biblical guideline ever given is the tithe (giving 10%). I can personally testify — and so can many other people — that when you invest in God’s work in a sacrificial way, He’s able to guide you to spend the remaining 90% more effectively than you could ever do on your own using all 100%.

Time, talent, and treasure are the three areas in which we can invest our lives in doing God’s will. If we focus on being investors for God instead of consumers for ourselves, life will be richer — because we’ll be living the way God designed us to live. Live like the man who planted a tree even though he knew he’d never sit in its shade!

MAKING THIS WORK IN CHURCH
The ten core values we’re examining are to be implemented in our individual lives and also in our church — and so it is with this one. It begins with each of us individually. Am I a part of this church so I can better have my needs met, or am I a part of this church so I can better meet the needs of others?

Don’t misunderstand: we all need the Lord, and we also need the Lord’s people. In fact, a person often starts attending a church because of a deeply-felt need or hurt. Many of Jesus’ followers first come to the Lord for His help and then followed Him in order to serve Him. We need to grow and mature in our faith to the point where we realize that the main focus for our being in a church is to serve others rather than to be served.

Here at Mayfair-Plymouth we encourage you to look at the list (in the bulletin) of the multitude of places you could serve. Ask God to help you find the place or places where He wants you to invest yourself.

God has given each of us the gift of our lives. We wouldn’t have to be here, but we are, and there’s a reason for that! We’re not here to grab all the gusto we can; we’re here to invest ourselves, serving the Lord and the people He has put within our reach!