WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:08.089 But this morning, I mentioned in our announcements 00:00:08.089 --> 00:00:12.449 that this was a month of generosity. And as I 00:00:12.449 --> 00:00:17.850 was praying this week about generosity and the 00:00:17.850 --> 00:00:21.410 service, it was like all of a sudden the Lord 00:00:21.410 --> 00:00:25.730 just put this right into my spirit that in order 00:00:25.730 --> 00:00:30.960 for us to truly be people of generosity, we have 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:35.439 to know the source of our generosity. We have 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:41.240 to understand our generous God. And this might 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:48.560 seem like a simple idea, but I often wonder how 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:54.240 much we truly believe that God wants to be generous 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:00.659 in my life toward me. Because if we really got 00:01:00.659 --> 00:01:06.000 that it would be a whole paradigm shift For our 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:10.439 lifestyles That God is generous and not just 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:13.459 that he is generous, but he wants to be generous 00:01:13.459 --> 00:01:17.620 to me Yeah, oh I believe he wants to be generous 00:01:17.620 --> 00:01:22.439 toward Candice But does he really want to be 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:27.060 generous toward me? And so this morning, we're 00:01:27.060 --> 00:01:29.280 gonna just, and I'm not gonna preach super long. 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:32.659 I knew we had a full morning today. And so I'm 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:35.040 gonna keep it short, but we're gonna be concluding 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:40.359 our time at communion, which I love, because 00:01:40.359 --> 00:01:45.500 communion to me represents the source of generosity. 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:51.840 And so in 1 Chronicles 29, this is to me a powerful 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:57.189 verse. This is David. King David was setting 00:01:57.189 --> 00:01:59.909 up for the building of the temple and they had 00:01:59.909 --> 00:02:04.349 begun to take offerings in from the leaders for 00:02:04.349 --> 00:02:08.889 the temple. And he was so overwhelmed by the 00:02:08.889 --> 00:02:13.009 generosity of the people that he says this, but 00:02:13.009 --> 00:02:18.469 who am I and who are my people that we should 00:02:18.469 --> 00:02:23.699 be able to give as generously as this? Isn't 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:27.520 that an awesome question? Who are we? I'm so 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:31.539 in awe of the generosity in what has been given 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:35.520 that I have to ask the question, who are we that 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:41.120 we have given this generously? And he makes this 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:46.500 declaration, everything comes from you. And we 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:49.900 have given you only what comes from your hands. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:58.979 How can we be so generous? Our source is generosity 00:02:58.979 --> 00:03:03.819 himself. God doesn't just do generous things. 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:10.479 God is generous. It is who he is, just as God 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:15.500 is love. He doesn't just act lovingly. He is 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:19.759 love. God doesn't just act generously. He is 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:26.400 generous. He can't help but be generous. Now 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.159 when we hear this word generosity, often our 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:33.919 minds immediately go to financially, I have to 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:36.460 give to the poor, I have to give to the one that 00:03:36.460 --> 00:03:40.199 is out trying to get money. But I want us, that's 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:47.509 to me very limiting. That is very limiting. Generosity 00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:52.129 is in every area of life that we steward. It 00:03:52.129 --> 00:03:56.689 is me being generous with my strength, my body. 00:03:56.990 --> 00:04:00.189 It is me being generous with my mind and lending 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:03.610 it to helping other people and figuring out their 00:04:03.610 --> 00:04:07.270 stuff. It is me being generous with my time. 00:04:07.490 --> 00:04:12.330 It is me being generous in my prayer life. Oh, 00:04:12.330 --> 00:04:15.580 this was a good one. I have a small group. on 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:19.899 Thursday nights. It is a small group. It's Tabitha 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:23.620 and I. Tabitha's not here today. Tabitha's loving 00:04:23.620 --> 00:04:27.019 it. She's getting one on one time. But we've 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:29.800 been going through foundations and we were just 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:32.879 talking about prayer this week. And there are 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:36.199 a couple of verses that we read where Paul says, 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:41.480 and pray for all the saints. In this moment, 00:04:41.560 --> 00:04:44.800 it's not so often what we pray are prayers out 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:48.300 of desperation for our situation, for our family, 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:51.759 for our needs. But Paul says, I'm calling you 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:56.399 to generosity of prayers. Prayers for all saints. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:59.680 How many of you are praying here for one another? 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:06.149 Prayers for all the saints. Generosity. And so 00:05:06.149 --> 00:05:09.709 I want you to think bigger today in the realm 00:05:09.709 --> 00:05:13.670 of generosity. I want you to think beyond what 00:05:13.670 --> 00:05:18.930 is easy for you to be generous in. Some of us, 00:05:19.290 --> 00:05:21.550 we tend, I can be generous with my time, I can 00:05:21.550 --> 00:05:24.329 be generous with this or this. What I'm calling 00:05:24.329 --> 00:05:28.009 for is for us to redefine a little bit generosity. 00:05:29.670 --> 00:05:33.029 Because... How should we be able to be so generous? 00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:37.769 Everything comes from God. It comes from His 00:05:37.769 --> 00:05:43.129 hand. And so there are just three takeaways today. 00:05:43.350 --> 00:05:46.170 Are you ready? Takeaway number one, if you're 00:05:46.170 --> 00:05:49.550 taking notes, I see that Pastor Ben is taking 00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:53.949 notes. Oh, Darren is taking notes. Abigail is 00:05:53.949 --> 00:05:56.709 taking notes. All right. Oh, Kathy is taking 00:05:56.709 --> 00:05:59.170 notes. Look at all these hands. That's awesome. 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:04.220 Okay, so takeaway number one is this. Very simple. 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:10.740 God is generous. Everybody say that. God is generous. 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:14.199 2 Corinthians 9. Now, you also have to have your 00:06:14.199 --> 00:06:16.980 Bibles, because we're going to... It's not enough 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:19.480 for my words for you to hear. You need to have 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:22.800 your faith stirred up by the Word of God. And 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:26.500 so 2 Corinthians 9 says this. Remember this. 00:06:28.430 --> 00:06:35.329 Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly. Whoever 00:06:35.329 --> 00:06:42.370 sows generously will reap generously. Each of 00:06:42.370 --> 00:06:44.470 you should give what you've decided in your heart 00:06:44.470 --> 00:06:47.670 to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, 00:06:47.889 --> 00:06:52.550 for God loves a cheerful giver. Wherever you 00:06:52.550 --> 00:06:55.389 are being generous, He wants you to be cheerful 00:06:55.389 --> 00:07:01.040 about it. And God is, here it is, here's why. 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:08.199 God is able to bless you abundantly. How does 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:13.060 he want to bless you? Abundantly. So that in 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:22.800 all things, at all times, all things, at all 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:27.470 times, In all things with your co -worker that's 00:07:27.470 --> 00:07:30.589 disgruntling you. In all things at all times. 00:07:30.870 --> 00:07:32.910 When your kids are driving you crazy, when your 00:07:32.910 --> 00:07:35.589 spouse is driving you crazy. I know I drive him 00:07:35.589 --> 00:07:45.209 crazy. In all things at all times. Having all 00:07:45.209 --> 00:07:48.230 that you need, you will abound in every good 00:07:48.230 --> 00:07:53.629 work. As it is written, they have freely scattered 00:07:53.629 --> 00:07:56.649 their gifts to the poor. Their righteousness 00:07:56.649 --> 00:08:00.930 endures forever. Now he who supplies seed to 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:05.850 the sower. Who's the one that supplies the seed? 00:08:05.930 --> 00:08:14.529 Do I have the seed? No. God gives the seed. God 00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:19.410 is the source. I love that it says they have 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:24.370 freely scattered their seed. When you aren't 00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:28.129 the source of the seed, you can scatter it freely, 00:08:28.689 --> 00:08:33.710 right? It didn't cost you anything, it comes 00:08:33.710 --> 00:08:37.350 from the seed giver. When it doesn't cost you 00:08:37.350 --> 00:08:41.129 anything, you can freely scatter, holding nothing 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:46.210 back. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and 00:08:46.210 --> 00:08:50.730 bread for food will also supply and increase 00:08:50.730 --> 00:08:55.629 your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest 00:08:55.629 --> 00:09:00.149 of your righteousness. I love this because it's 00:09:00.149 --> 00:09:04.970 not just about the stuff of this earth. But this 00:09:04.970 --> 00:09:09.610 kind of generosity is a generosity of righteousness, 00:09:10.710 --> 00:09:14.570 growing in the things of God, becoming like our 00:09:14.570 --> 00:09:19.490 generous God. You will be enriched in every way. 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:24.090 Every way. Think about the areas right now in 00:09:24.090 --> 00:09:26.789 your life, if you're taking notes, write it down, 00:09:27.049 --> 00:09:29.769 where you do not feel like you are being enriched. 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:36.179 And then I want you to begin to pray this verse 00:09:36.179 --> 00:09:39.960 over that area, that you would be enriched in 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:45.639 every area so that you can be generous on every 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:52.240 occasion. And through us, your generosity will 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:57.600 result in thanksgiving to God. God wants to be 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:03.019 generous with you. Why? He wants you to be generous 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:08.399 with people. You will be enriched in every way 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:12.639 so you can be generous on every occasion. Every 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:19.720 occasion. This is where the rubber kind of meets 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:22.419 the road because there are areas that we don't 00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:24.379 like to be generous. There are people we don't 00:10:24.379 --> 00:10:28.639 like to be generous towards. And here I see no 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:33.870 wiggle room. He uses very strong language, every 00:10:33.870 --> 00:10:37.870 occasion, at all times, generous, generous, generous. 00:10:39.289 --> 00:10:42.149 Why are we able to do that? Our God is a generous 00:10:42.149 --> 00:10:46.549 God. Our source, we have a well of generosity 00:10:46.549 --> 00:10:52.549 at our disposal. Listen to these verses. I'm 00:10:52.549 --> 00:10:54.330 going to read through them fast, but Matthew 00:10:54.330 --> 00:10:58.269 7, and it will be given. Seek and you will find, 00:10:58.450 --> 00:11:00.929 knock, the door will be opened. Everyone who 00:11:00.929 --> 00:11:04.909 asks receives, the one who seeks find, the one 00:11:04.909 --> 00:11:07.809 who knocks the door will be opened. Which of 00:11:07.809 --> 00:11:10.669 you, if your son asks for bread, will give a 00:11:10.669 --> 00:11:13.850 stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him 00:11:13.850 --> 00:11:17.490 a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how 00:11:17.490 --> 00:11:20.429 to give good gifts to your children, how much 00:11:20.429 --> 00:11:23.210 more will your father in heaven give good gifts 00:11:23.210 --> 00:11:28.200 to those who ask him? Ephesians 3 20 to him who's 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:30.720 able to do immeasurably more than you could ask 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:34.120 or imagine according to his power at work within 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:38.980 you Hebrews 11 6 he rewards those who earnestly 00:11:38.980 --> 00:11:43.659 seek him Matthew 21 22 if you believe you will 00:11:43.659 --> 00:11:47.600 receive whatever you ask for in prayer 2nd Corinthians 00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:50.779 9 we read it he is able to bless you abundantly 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:54.279 so in all things at all times having all you 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:56.860 need you will abound for every good work. When 00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:01.159 I read these verses what do I hear? I hear the 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:06.559 heart of a generous God who according to Ephesians 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:12.279 says he lavished on us. He lavished all grace 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:17.240 upon us. We have a generous God and you need 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:20.279 to start believing that he wants to be generous 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:30.759 to you. Jesus was generous. And I say this specifically, 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:34.340 in our leader meeting Monday night, or Tuesday 00:12:34.340 --> 00:12:37.600 night, we were talking about a verse, and Kathy 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:44.080 was pointing out how Jesus operated out of his 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:48.159 humanness, right? Jesus did all these great and 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:50.279 amazing things while on earth, and we think, 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:55.559 yeah, that's because he's Jesus. But Jesus was 00:12:55.559 --> 00:13:01.779 operating out of his humanness. He battled and 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:05.879 struggled and was tempted like you were. In fact, 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:09.899 in Philippians 2, it says, though he was God, 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:15.620 he did not think of equality with God as something 00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:19.759 to cling to. And this is actually in the New 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:23.289 Living Translation. I liked this. because it 00:13:23.289 --> 00:13:29.490 says he gave up his divine privileges. He took 00:13:29.490 --> 00:13:33.950 the humble position of a slave and was born as 00:13:33.950 --> 00:13:38.509 a human being. And this is what he operated out 00:13:38.509 --> 00:13:44.070 of Well on Earth. The English standard version 00:13:44.070 --> 00:13:48.809 says that he emptied himself. And it was out 00:13:48.809 --> 00:13:52.450 of that place that he did all that he did. And 00:13:52.450 --> 00:13:57.090 so Jesus, out of his own humanness, was the mark 00:13:57.090 --> 00:14:01.149 of generosity. He laid aside the glories of heaven. 00:14:01.490 --> 00:14:04.590 He healed on the Sabbath when he wasn't supposed 00:14:04.590 --> 00:14:07.929 to. He touched the untouchables when he wasn't 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:11.029 supposed to. He allowed women to follow him around 00:14:11.029 --> 00:14:13.549 and sit at his feet and learn from him. He wasn't 00:14:13.549 --> 00:14:17.110 supposed to do that. He ministered to non -Jews. 00:14:17.769 --> 00:14:20.889 wasn't supposed to do that. He fed the hungry. 00:14:21.149 --> 00:14:25.029 He gave voice to the people by challenging the 00:14:25.029 --> 00:14:28.330 religious leaders. He made himself available 00:14:28.330 --> 00:14:31.769 to all people. He valued children. He washed 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:34.990 the feet of his disciples. He offered forgiveness 00:14:34.990 --> 00:14:38.429 to his betrayers and he was suffered on the cross 00:14:38.429 --> 00:14:44.669 and died for you and I. Jesus was generous. Jesus 00:14:44.669 --> 00:14:50.409 was generous. If you get nothing else today, 00:14:51.289 --> 00:14:54.950 I want you to, what I feel like this sermon is 00:14:54.950 --> 00:14:58.690 supposed to be for you today is a diving board. 00:15:00.129 --> 00:15:03.690 There is no way I can cover the depths of who 00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:07.870 God is in generosity. I wanna be a springboard. 00:15:08.029 --> 00:15:10.470 I want it to be a diving board for you to leave 00:15:10.470 --> 00:15:13.970 this place and dive in and discover the generosity 00:15:13.970 --> 00:15:18.480 of God in your life. but God is generous. Number 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:25.820 two, it is good that God is generous, but you 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:31.919 must feast on his generosity. It's not enough 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:36.360 to know God is generous. You have to feast on 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:41.460 his generosity. In Psalm 36, there's this beautiful 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:45.440 passage starting in verse five that I love. Because 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:48.580 it does, it shows us again the generosity of 00:15:48.580 --> 00:15:51.899 God. Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens. 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:58.039 Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:01.919 is like the highest mountain. Your justice like 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:05.940 the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people 00:16:05.940 --> 00:16:10.559 and animals, for all of you animal lovers. How 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:15.740 priceless. is your unfailing love, O God. People 00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:19.539 take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:25.340 feast on the abundance of your house. You give 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:31.600 them drink from your river of delights, for with 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:36.679 you is the fountain of life." Listen, he has 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:39.779 an abundant house. Right here it says it in verse 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:48.039 8. Your house God is an abundant house. We have 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:53.409 the choice if we want to feast or not. My first 00:16:53.409 --> 00:16:56.590 small group was an abundant house. Oh man, we 00:16:56.590 --> 00:17:00.149 had cleaned all day. I had made chili. I had 00:17:00.149 --> 00:17:03.149 made cornbread. I had it ready. Tabitha came 00:17:03.149 --> 00:17:06.210 and Tabitha had already eaten. So my family got 00:17:06.210 --> 00:17:09.450 to it. I had an abundance, but there was nobody 00:17:09.450 --> 00:17:16.210 to feast on my house. God has an abundant house, 00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:21.470 but he doesn't force feed anybody. It is on us. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:27.819 to feast and to drink. We just had a wiener roast 00:17:27.819 --> 00:17:30.319 at my mother's house and we were having this 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:33.599 discussion that when my children were little, 00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:38.099 my mom loves to shop. She loves to buy things 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:41.700 for the grandkids, right? All grandparents, right? 00:17:41.819 --> 00:17:44.460 You like to buy things for your grandkids. I 00:17:44.460 --> 00:17:47.779 was just in Missouri with our boys and we had 00:17:47.779 --> 00:17:50.200 gone thrift shopping. The boys like to go thrift 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:53.569 shopping. And so, you know, this is why I take 00:17:53.569 --> 00:17:55.529 them thrift shopping, because I can afford to 00:17:55.529 --> 00:17:58.089 buy them whatever they want. If we even go to 00:17:58.089 --> 00:18:00.250 Walmart, I'm not giving them all their heart's 00:18:00.250 --> 00:18:03.089 desires, but at a thrift store, I can do that. 00:18:03.289 --> 00:18:06.970 And so, we had gone thrifting. So later that 00:18:06.970 --> 00:18:10.369 night, the boys were with Alexandra and Jeremy 00:18:10.369 --> 00:18:14.890 in the vehicle, and Benji was going on, Dad, 00:18:15.990 --> 00:18:22.920 she bought me whatever I wanted. had to do was 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:26.640 point at something and it was his and he was 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:30.779 so excited over this generosity Edmund was a 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:34.599 little different Edmund was eight he is eight 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.099 and he would come up to the counter with me to 00:18:37.099 --> 00:18:40.559 check out pulling out his wallet because he was 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:43.450 gonna pay I was like, little dude, we are not 00:18:43.450 --> 00:18:46.769 doing this. I'm not arguing with you like I argue 00:18:46.769 --> 00:18:49.230 with your son. You're eight, put your wallet 00:18:49.230 --> 00:18:54.049 away. Nona is buying today. So we love to buy 00:18:54.049 --> 00:18:59.190 for them. So my mom is no different. But I remember 00:18:59.190 --> 00:19:01.430 when they were little, I'd be like, don't ask 00:19:01.430 --> 00:19:04.529 grandma for stuff, right? As mom, that's what 00:19:04.529 --> 00:19:08.009 I'm saying. Don't ask grandma for stuff. So she 00:19:08.009 --> 00:19:10.349 would try to pry out of the kids when she went 00:19:10.349 --> 00:19:14.369 shopping what they wanted and so she was telling 00:19:14.369 --> 00:19:18.430 us last week of the time that they were at Walmart 00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:22.710 and they were checking out and Jeremy said grandma 00:19:22.710 --> 00:19:27.700 Can I have a pack of gum? And she was like, and 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:30.319 she did, even in telling the story, she threw 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.819 her arms out. Yes, you can have whatever you 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:36.839 want. What else do you guys want? Yes, you can 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:39.859 have whatever you want. She was so delighted 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:43.940 that he had asked her for something. This is 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:48.559 the way the father wants us to come to him. He 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:51.839 wants us to feast on the abundance he longs to 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:58.369 give to us. Psalm 23, we know this passage. It's 00:19:58.369 --> 00:20:01.190 the passage we read at funerals, but it's one 00:20:01.190 --> 00:20:05.069 of my favorites. You prepare a table before me 00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:10.170 in the presence of my enemies, but it's up to 00:20:10.170 --> 00:20:13.529 me to step up and seat myself at the table of 00:20:13.529 --> 00:20:19.230 the Lord. He doesn't do it for me. He doesn't 00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:22.000 do it. But you know, this is a kind of generous 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:27.160 God. He loves it when we ask Him. He loves it 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:33.740 when we come to feast upon His generosity. When 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:36.519 my kids were younger, Jeremy had a best friend, 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:39.839 Luke. Luke has drummed for us a time or two, 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:43.140 and he's just like one of my kids. He was the 00:20:43.140 --> 00:20:46.380 best friend. Vanessa and her son Chandler, they 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:51.190 were all best friends. And Luke, I loved it when 00:20:51.190 --> 00:20:57.130 Luke came to dinner. Luke loved food and Luke 00:20:57.130 --> 00:21:01.529 appreciated food. And he would be like, oh, this 00:21:01.529 --> 00:21:07.490 is so good. This is so good. He would get so 00:21:07.490 --> 00:21:10.869 excited. And it was probably just a normal night's 00:21:10.869 --> 00:21:14.930 meal, but he would get so excited over his food 00:21:14.930 --> 00:21:21.789 that I love to feed Luke. Why? Because He enjoyed 00:21:21.789 --> 00:21:26.589 feasting on my abundance. What are you talking 00:21:26.589 --> 00:21:31.329 about down there? Darren appreciates it if I 00:21:31.329 --> 00:21:37.910 make steak and apple pie. The Lord takes joy 00:21:37.910 --> 00:21:41.089 in our feasting on His abundance. And for some 00:21:41.089 --> 00:21:44.990 of you, you feel like, and it's true, we are 00:21:44.990 --> 00:21:50.460 unworthy of it. We are. But the heart of God 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:53.079 is to come and to feast and some of you need 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:57.140 to really get that. Because the word calls us 00:21:57.140 --> 00:22:00.019 to come boldly into the throne room. The word 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:03.039 calls us to not, oh I'm so sorry Lord for coming 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:07.640 in and asking this. No! He has an abundance and 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:10.180 he wants you to come and take joy and delight 00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:12.859 in the abundance that he has for you. He is a 00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:19.740 generous God. He is a generous God. And it's 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:23.900 up to us to feast on that generosity. Third takeaway, 00:22:24.339 --> 00:22:29.160 and we're gonna be finishing up here. In this 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:35.720 generosity, when we partake, when we feast on 00:22:35.720 --> 00:22:38.200 the generosity of God, something interesting 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:42.940 happens in that we begin to take on the characteristics 00:22:42.940 --> 00:22:46.640 of God's generosity. This is the power of it. 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:50.880 is that we begin to be transformed as we partake 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:55.279 of God's generosity. We take on His characteristics 00:22:55.279 --> 00:23:00.900 of generosity. We actually become people of generosity. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:05.619 And so Romans 5, here's the truth of it. You 00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:09.480 see, at just the right time, when we were still 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:14.380 powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. And here's 00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:19.119 our human generosity. Very rarely will anyone 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:23.180 die for a righteous person, though for a good 00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:28.720 person, someone might possibly dare to die. Isn't 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:33.119 that the truth? You deserve my death, I will 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:36.140 die for you. You not so much, so forget about 00:23:36.140 --> 00:23:41.460 it. That's not the generosity of God though, 00:23:41.460 --> 00:23:46.700 is it? Because it says in verse eight, God demonstrates 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:50.839 his own love for us in this. While we were still 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:56.640 sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't wait for 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:00.539 you to earn or to deserve it. While we did not 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:04.559 deserve it, he extended generosity of his life 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:08.910 toward us. And so generosity, God's way, means 00:24:08.910 --> 00:24:12.890 that it is to be generous toward those we deem 00:24:12.890 --> 00:24:19.410 unworthy. Because it is, in our minds, it's a 00:24:19.410 --> 00:24:24.289 bit of an injustice. Well, who am I going to 00:24:24.289 --> 00:24:30.829 pick on? Cole. Cole did me wrong. Cole did something 00:24:31.359 --> 00:24:34.960 And because of that, I don't need to be generous. 00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:40.660 He does not deserve it. That's the generosity 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:45.259 of the world thinking. God's way is to be generous 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:51.980 toward those that have put us on the cross. That's 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:56.250 God's justice. Generosity, God's way, is to be 00:24:56.250 --> 00:24:59.750 generous when it's inconvenient. Generosity, 00:24:59.769 --> 00:25:03.069 God's way, is to be generous when it appears 00:25:03.069 --> 00:25:07.930 I have nothing to be generous with. This is the 00:25:07.930 --> 00:25:12.549 generosity of the kingdom. This is the generosity 00:25:12.549 --> 00:25:16.710 that steps outside the realm of what I can offer 00:25:16.710 --> 00:25:21.819 you. This is the generosity that taps into the 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:28.380 source and offers what comes from God. This is 00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:31.960 the generosity of the kingdom. One of my heroes 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:34.779 of the Bible are the Macedonian people. How many 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:38.680 of you know who the Macedonian people are? Paul 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:44.819 refers to them in 2 Corinthians. He says, I want 00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:47.119 you to know about the grace God has given the 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:51.880 Macedonian churches. In the midst of severe trial, 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:58.420 their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty 00:25:58.420 --> 00:26:05.200 welled up in rich generosity. I love them. I'm 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:08.480 like the Macedonians deserve extra reward in 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:13.049 heaven. For I testified they gave as much as 00:26:13.049 --> 00:26:16.329 they were able and even beyond their ability 00:26:16.329 --> 00:26:19.630 I've been reading the autobiography of George 00:26:19.630 --> 00:26:23.690 Mueller right now who in the 1800s started orphanages 00:26:23.690 --> 00:26:28.289 and the only way he paid for it was by God providing 00:26:28.289 --> 00:26:32.849 money day by day hour by hour Millions of dollars 00:26:32.849 --> 00:26:37.869 went through his hands in the 1800s as he by 00:26:37.869 --> 00:26:41.529 faith believed. He gave away almost all of his 00:26:41.529 --> 00:26:44.130 income and lived on very little with his wife. 00:26:45.690 --> 00:26:49.430 Generosity flowed through him. He reminds me 00:26:49.430 --> 00:26:53.009 of the Macedonians. They couldn't afford it, 00:26:53.170 --> 00:26:57.910 but they gave in rich generosity, entirely on 00:26:57.910 --> 00:27:01.839 their own. They urgently pleaded with us for 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:06.359 the privilege of sharing in this service to the 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:11.440 Lord's people. They were asking, I need to give. 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:14.079 How can I give? How can I give? How can I give? 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:19.119 Rich generosity. Was it convenient? Could they 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:24.299 afford it? No. But they knew the source. They 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:29.160 were tapped in to the generosity of God. They 00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:33.059 were tapped into the source. Are we tapped into 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:37.059 the source? I'm gonna ask if the worship team 00:27:37.059 --> 00:27:39.019 will come and the ushers are gonna be getting 00:27:39.019 --> 00:27:42.259 ready here in a moment. But I've shared this 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:45.019 little story before and I wanted to do it again 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:48.779 today. But the story is told that one day a beggar 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:52.619 by the roadside asked for alms from Alexander 00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:56.960 the Great as he passed by. The man was poor and 00:27:56.960 --> 00:28:00.319 wretched and had no claim upon the ruler, no 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:04.960 right even to lift a hand. Yet the emperor threw 00:28:04.960 --> 00:28:10.500 him several gold coins. A courtier was astonished 00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:15.579 at his generosity and he commented, sir, copper 00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:19.339 coins would have adequately met a beggar's need. 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:24.910 Why give him gold? Alexander responded in royal 00:28:24.910 --> 00:28:29.910 fashion. Copper coins would suit the beggar's 00:28:29.910 --> 00:28:35.670 need, but gold coins suit Alexander's giving. 00:28:41.029 --> 00:28:44.069 We can be satisfied with a level of giving that 00:28:44.069 --> 00:28:48.410 originates from us, but friend, we are representative 00:28:48.410 --> 00:28:53.859 of a generous God. And our giving is not based 00:28:53.859 --> 00:28:58.660 upon the needs of people or the needs of circumstances. 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:04.880 Our generosity is based on the generous God that 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:08.319 gives all and withholds nothing, not even his 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:14.779 own son. Our generosity is a reflection of that 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:20.890 kind of God. We can afford to be generous. We 00:29:20.890 --> 00:29:24.029 can afford to give beyond what we thought we 00:29:24.029 --> 00:29:27.329 could or imagined that we could, because we have 00:29:27.329 --> 00:29:35.069 a source, a generous God. And in 2nd Corinthians 00:29:35.069 --> 00:29:51.680 8, it says, through his poverty might become 00:29:51.680 --> 00:29:57.559 rich. It is the poverty of Christ that became 00:29:57.559 --> 00:30:03.440 the doorway for us to become rich. And so who 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:09.460 are we? Who are we that we should be able to 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:12.400 give as generously as we want to give in our 00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:22.099 giving? Who are we? David asks, we are ones that 00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:27.059 have access, that acknowledges that everything 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:30.680 comes from God, and we are only giving that which 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:34.559 He's given to us to begin with. Amen? And so 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:41.380 some of you today need to catch this. The generosity 00:30:41.380 --> 00:30:47.079 of Jesus has made you rich, and you need to think 00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:50.420 a little differently. Because you're still thinking 00:30:50.420 --> 00:30:53.680 of your life out of the place of poverty. You're 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:55.920 still thinking about your life and the place 00:30:55.920 --> 00:31:00.279 of lack. And the whole point of this month of 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:03.480 generosity is to begin to understand the power 00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:07.559 of giving, how it changes us, how it opens us 00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:10.160 up, and how we quit seeing our lack and we begin 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:13.160 to see the generosity of God released through 00:31:13.160 --> 00:31:17.299 our lives. And there's joy in that. There's joy 00:31:17.299 --> 00:31:21.759 in that. And so our team of ushers back there 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:24.380 are going to come and distribute the table of 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:28.079 the Lord. And as they do, we're just going to, 00:31:28.119 --> 00:31:30.880 for a few moments, worship as the team leads 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:31.380 us.