"What Then Shall We Do?"
Luke 3:7-14
Sunday, December 17, 2006

Introduction: (Peanuts Comic Strip: Marcie and Peppermint Patty call Charlie Brown)

Peppermint Patty says: "Marcie and I are about to leave for camp, Chuck...we're gonna be swimming instructors." She hands the phone to Marcie, who says: "We just called to say goodbye, Charles. We're going to miss you...WE LOVE YOU..." Peppermint Patty shouts out: "MARCIE!!" In the last frame, Charlie Brown's sister Sally asks: "Who was that?" With a sigh and a smile Charlie Brown answers: "I think it was a right number."

LOVE. What a wonderful feeling it is. In fact, we were created to love and be loved. That is why the 2 great commands are: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and mind, and soul, and strength…And love your neighbor as yourself.”

The Bible is full of passages about love. Let me read you just a few…..

Proverbs 3:3 says: “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Isaiah 5:1- “I will sing for the one I love; a song about His vineyard…”

And then how about a couple of very familiar ones; John 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-8……. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a- “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

So if we were created to love and be loved, why do we struggle so much in this area?

I. Give and Take- (Luke 3:8)

a. Take- When sin entered the world, it caused us to become selfish. And

in our selfishness, we seek to take more than we give. Life is full of examples of taking… EXAMPLE 1- In the movie “The Distinguished Gentleman,” Eddie Murphy plays a Florida con man. When he discovers that a long time Congressman, who shares his name, passes away, he uses this name recognition to get himself elected to Congress. Once in Congress, he discovers that money flows from lobbyists. The temptation is to take all of this money that is being offered to him.

This movie (and many of the news stories) gives us a glimpse of how the politicians who are supposed to represent the people, really are just looking out for themselves by taking what they think they deserve!

EXAMPLE 2- (Hurricane Katrina)- Hurricane Katrina was a terrible event that rocked the worlds of thousands of people, especially in New Orleans and Mississippi. There has been much attempt to give to people in need. But there are many who have chosen to use this tragedy to take for themselves. Here are just a few stories…

(Headline: Two booked on Katrina fraud charges)- A 55-year-old Metairie man and a 43-year-old Chalmette man were arrested Friday on insurance fraud charges related to Hurricane Katrina./ (Headline: 1300 Katrina fraud probes under way)- More than a year after Hurricane Katrina, there are about 1,300 ongoing investigations of alleged FEMA fraud in the southern district alone./ (Headline: FEMA still squandering millions in Katrina aid)- The government is squandering tens of millions of dollars in Hurricane Katrina

disaster aid, in some cases doling out housing payments to people living rent-free, investigators said Wednesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has recouped less than 1 percent of the $1 billion that investigators contend it squandered on fraudulent assistance, according to the Government Accountability Office. Its report shows the disaster relief agency's struggles, one year after the deadly storm, to rush aid to those in need while also preventing abuse.

b. Give- How amazing is it to hear about this abuse? Here we have an

area where people are in need, and others are trying to give, but many are abusing these gifts by taking it illegally. And these stories are not alone. There are so many stories throughout the world where people are taking from those who are in need.

We give food to other countries, but it never makes it to those who need it; instead the military confiscates it and sells it for profit./ Our health care system is in disarray. One reason is because of the fraudulent claims that are made by people trying to gain money that is not owed to them….I could go on and on about story after story where people are taking instead of giving. Where is the love in this?

But we are called to give of ourselves. We can search our hearts

and minds and know that it is not right to take in these ways. We hear these stories, and we are bothered by them; angered by them. But even more, we have the word of God which reminds us of this call. As Luke 3:8 tell us- “Bear fruits that are worthy of repentance…” Here we have a social gospel where John the Baptist is demanding that people share with one another. It is a gospel that tells us that God will never be happy with the person who is content with having too much while others have too little.

II. What then shall we do?- (Acts 20:35; Luke 3:10-14)

a. Object lesson in giving- Before I get into the Bible lesson of the

morning, and what it says to us about giving, I want to demonstrate a point with a little object lesson. Christmas is a season about giving. We give gifts to each other. Hopefully you gave a gift to the church today through the “Love Offering.” And this giving of gifts is a way to share love. So I want to share a little love this morning… (Take stocking and give out gifts)./ How fun it is to share a gift with someone. As Jesus says to us in Acts 20:35- “… ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

b. What then?- It is interesting to see that as John the Baptist challenges

the people, instead of getting angry at John, they were humbled. You see their response in verse 10: “And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do.’” The people wanted to know what they could do to be more in line with God’s will. The people wanted to know how they could change. The people wanted to know how to love others better./ So John responds in verse 11: “… ‘Whoever has 2 coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.’”

Every now and then I will go into my children’s bedrooms, see all the toys and stuff they have, and begin to work with them on getting rid of some of their excess. And when we do this, we put it into 2 piles: the pile that will be thrown away, and the pile that will be given to someone else that can use it. We do the same with their clothes from time to time./ I believe that this is a good practice, because it helps us to realize the excess that we have, and helps us to remember the needs that others have.

This causes more intrigue as the tax collectors chime in with the same question: “What then shall we do?” Now you need to understand that the tax collectors were not honest people; they would often cheat people out of their money by taxing people more than what was necessary so that they would make a greater profit. This caused great resentment and hatred from the people. And so the tax collector’s would respond to this hatred by taxing them even more. So John turns to the tax collector’s and says to them: “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

In other words, John was telling them that they were taking what was not theirs, and that they should only take what was allowed for them to take, and not overtax the people. John didn’t tell them to stop being tax collectors, but rather to be honest and forthright. They could give a great service to the people by collecting only the amount prescribed.

So then the soldiers decide to jump in and ask “What then shall we do?”/

It is believed that these soldiers were Jewish, and not Roman, and that they were aligned with the tax collectors to help them retrieve the taxes. These soldiers held a privileged position in society. If the soldiers used excessive force, the citizens could do nothing about it.

John’s response to them is… “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” We see that the soldiers took from the people in 2 ways: threats or false accusations. Either way, the soldiers had the authority, and the people couldn’t stop this extorting. So John tells them to not practice this sinful behavior. Above that, they are to be satisfied with what they are paid, because this ‘not being satisfied’ is what was causing them to take from the people.

c. What then for us?- This then leads us to ask the question: What then

for us? How are we to respond? So let’s take a moment to learn from the crowd, the tax collectors, and the soldiers.

1. The crowd- No matter what we have or don’t have, the truth

is, we all have excess. Maybe you have 2 coats, or an abundance of soup, or 3 television sets. Love leads us to realize that we do not need to have excess, and by sharing it with others, by giving it to others, we can help them to experience the love of God; experience the blessing of giving to others. So what you and I need to do over the next couple of weeks, is look in our closets, and on our shelves, and in our cupboards, and find those things we don’t need. Then set them aside and ask God to lead you to the place where you can give it away. Maybe you will hear a news story, or read something in the paper, or be talking to a friend and hear of a need. Or maybe you take it to “His Nesting Place’s” thrift store or find a way to give it to someone who lost things in the Garden Paradise Apartment fire.

2. The tax collector’s- As we think about the tax collectors, we

might think about the taxes we have to pay. It won’t be long until March and April come, and we have to pay our taxes. The questions we have to ask ourselves is: Are we declaring all that we make? Are we justifying ourselves against the IRS when we don’t pay all of our taxes? Is there any way that we are not being truthful?/ And for some of you, you may do a service for someone and need to collect the money. Are you charging them an honest price?/ Or those of you who own property and rent it out; is your rent at a reasonable rate? These are all questions we have to ask as we think about “bearing the fruit that is worthy of repentance.”

3. The soldiers- And last we come to the soldiers. The soldiers’

issue was that of power. The soldiers took things from others by abusing their power. When we are in a position of power, positions like supervisor, parent, teacher, leader, grandparent….we have the ability to use this position to give or to take. Authority and power are easily abused. Let us make sure that we are using our position to give and not to take; give a kind word, or give some encouragement, or give some advice, or even give a gift. If we let God help us to be satisfied with where He has placed us in life and position, then we will be more apt to be giving and not take.

Conclusion: This third Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of love. Love is seen in the action of giving, not in the actions of taking or being selfish. We are able to love when we know we are loved./ Do you know how much God loves you? Do you really understand God’s love? I think the honest answer for us would have to be no. There is no real way to understand the depth of God’s love. This was why the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:17-18, “…. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

What is Christmas all about? It is about understanding the love of God, and finding ways to reach beyond ourselves and love those around us. Not just those we like; not just those we feel comfortable with; but sharing love whenever and wherever we have the chance./ May the love of God touch you today, and change your world, so that you can change the world around you; so that you can "bear the fruit that is worthy of repentance." Let us do this today and every day. Amen.