June 26, 2019
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Have you driven past a home or building that's under construction lately? Take a good look, because there are some things you will never see again, so you'd better look now. Like the foundation for example. You can see it right now while they're building, but pretty soon all you'll see is the house, or the office building, or the condo. The foundation will pretty soon disappear from view. But it's always going to be what's holding up that whole structure. The same is true of the support beams. Pretty soon they're going to be covered with walls, and paint, and wallpaper. But they will always form the invisible support for everything. If the foundation or the support beams go, the whole thing goes.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "You Can't See Them, But They're Holding it Together."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Luke chapter 8, and I'm going to read the first three verses. "After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means."
Now, if you noticed, there are some big things going on here for the kingdom. In fact it says here that Jesus and the disciples are out "...proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God." Now, that's what you can see. You can see the structure they're building - the kingdom of God! But did you ever think about Jesus and the disciples and how they had to be supported somehow?
How could they totally devote themselves to kingdom building? They had to be available, but they had to live somehow. Well, some women it tells us here, went to work, got a paycheck and gave it to Jesus and His disciples. Or some had a source of income and said, "Well, part of this will go to keep Jesus and His disciples ministering."
They're pretty invisible in the Bible, but the ministry couldn't have continued without them. Jesus and the disciples would have had to do what they could - squeeze in as much ministry as they could when they weren't working in their off hours. Now, 2,000 years later, some "called" people are still working around the clock to build God's kingdom, just like Jesus and His disciples did. But they're held up - they're supported - by the support beams of people who sacrifice part of what they've earned to keep the army on the front lines.
I hope you're in that category of God's unsung heroes. Oh, men may not know your name or the sacrifices you're making. Oh, but you can be sure God does. You may not feel like your role is important, but believe me like those women who supported Jesus' ministry, you're the foundation...you're the support beams. And it's more important than ever that you check out what you're supporting. Don't just give to charisma, or emotional appeals, or slick packaging. Check it out! Make sure they're proclaiming God's kingdom, not their own. That they make you think about Jesus, not about them. There's nothing more exciting in personal finances than to write a sacrificial check to support the work of Jesus Christ. Not an organization, not a personality, but the work of King Jesus. Send it to Jesus!
I think what had motivated those women was that Jesus had so transformed their lives, and they didn't want anybody else to miss that opportunity. They wanted others to have the chance they had to experience what only Jesus could do for them. That's the motivation for giving - I want others to be touched by Jesus like I have been. And I want to give what I have to help them have the chance I got.
It's so rewarding to know that the pay you're earning by today's work gives you resources to invest in the continuing, life-changing, life-saving work of Jesus on earth - the greatest cause on the planet! You own a piece of His action.