1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,860 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,860 --> 00:00:21,080 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,440 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:40,680 for the life we're searching for. Well, we're glad to be with you today. Thank you so much 6 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:46,400 for being in our service today. We're talking about the fourth practice that changes everything 7 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:50,360 in a person's life. And I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn to Acts chapter 8 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,920 two today. We're going to talk about generous giving. You know, at some point when you began 9 00:00:54,920 --> 00:01:00,480 to talk about generosity or generous giving, it becomes part of the conversation to say, 10 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:07,000 this is what's changed my life or it's changed someone else's life or some situation that 11 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,440 we're aware of. Generous giving does that. In Acts chapter two is the opening of the 12 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:17,280 New Testament church, opening days. They were practicing some amazing kinds of habits that 13 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:22,940 were allowing them to grow in faith and knowledge of Christ. And part of that was generosity 14 00:01:22,940 --> 00:01:27,320 woven throughout the pages of the book of Acts. You have generosity. Let's stand together 15 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:36,960 for just a few moments as we read this passage, Acts chapter two, beginning in verse 47. This 16 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:41,360 is after Pentecost, after Peter preached this great message at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit 17 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:46,840 has fallen on all these individuals. Many have come to faith in Christ. In fact, verse 18 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:52,920 41 says about 3000 souls were added on that day of Pentecost. So this is kind of a, a 19 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:58,280 pinnacle of the opening chapter of the New Testament church. And then it begins to talk 20 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:03,720 about what they began to do immediately on the other side of this great moment of Pentecost. 21 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:08,980 It says in verse 42, they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching 22 00:02:08,980 --> 00:02:14,600 and to fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a 23 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:19,320 sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all 24 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,200 those who had believed were together and had all things in common. And they began selling 25 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:28,840 their property and possessions and were sharing them with all as anyone might have need. Day 26 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,440 by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they 27 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:38,600 were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, having 28 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:44,040 favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day, those who 29 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:49,480 were being saved. I just love this text. I love reading about the New Testament church 30 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,560 and I love reading about the zeal and the passion and enthusiasm that are coming out 31 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:59,320 of these opening moments. And I so pray that we can grasp how the spirit was moving then 32 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:05,320 and how he wants to move now. Father in Jesus name, show us by the power of your Holy Spirit, 33 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:10,960 all we need to know about this text and our lives and how they intersect. So that allow 34 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:17,520 us to be like those people, generous followers of Jesus Christ. We ask this in Jesus name 35 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:24,560 and everybody said amen. Please be seated if you would. Well, generosity is a pretty 36 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:29,040 big deal. And I want to define it as we walk through this because you see this all through 37 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,080 the church. And by the way, as I start this message, I want you to know that I believe 38 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:39,480 that we are in a very, very generous church. You need to know today I'm not preaching this 39 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:44,600 message out of a sense of need. We don't have any particular need right now that I could 40 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:50,440 say, oh, we need you to be generous about this or about that. That's not why this message 41 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:55,200 has happened today. And we're not saying this because we think there's some failure in giving 42 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,480 in some part in our church. If anything, we look back and say, God, what an incredible 43 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:04,840 blessing the generosity of this church has been. He's done so many things and we'll talk 44 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:09,160 about that in just a few moments. And we'll take some time just to thank God for how he's 45 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:13,640 provided. And in the middle of this message, I'm also going to give you a very important 46 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:19,200 announcement that has a great deal to do with the generosity of God towards his people. 47 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:23,200 And so you want to make note of what I say in just a few moments. I don't think you're 48 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:27,080 going to be able to miss it, but nonetheless, I want to warn you. So as we walk through 49 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:32,320 this series that we're in, we've named four things that are key practices that change 50 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:38,840 everything in your life. We began four weeks ago with the principle of corporate worship. 51 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:43,640 Worshipping God individually and worshiping God corporately was the mainstay of the New 52 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:49,000 Testament church. It's why they gathered together to encourage one another and to edify and 53 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:53,720 glorify God. It's a reset of everything that we do in the course of a week where we are 54 00:04:53,720 --> 00:05:00,000 reminded on the first day of the week that the priority of our lives is to follow Jesus 55 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,560 Christ who is worthy of all praise and all glory and all honor. And when we gather, I 56 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:12,360 hope that you open up your heart and are reminded that we live for him. Everything is about 57 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,720 him, corporate worship. Secondly, we looked the second week about connecting with other 58 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:21,840 people, the importance of what fellowship with one another really is, how we sharpen 59 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:26,280 one another. Iron sharpens iron, we said. And we see how the New Testament church was 60 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:31,080 filled with believers that were challenging one another and encouraging one another and 61 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:35,720 praying for one another in a huge, huge way. And in a world that doesn't really know where 62 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:41,440 it fits, the church of Jesus Christ is where every believer fits. If you ever wonder where 63 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:45,960 are your people and you're a believer in Christ, the church is your people and that's who you 64 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,840 need to turn to and the church needs to be a great advocate for your spiritual walk. 65 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:57,920 So that's the second habit. The third habit is serving. Those who follow Christ and all 66 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:04,320 he did know that his life was about not being served but to serve and to give himself as 67 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:09,520 a ransom for many and he led his disciples to serve. Servanthood is so incredibly important 68 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:15,240 and now this fourth practice, this fourth habit that changes everything is giving. I 69 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:20,120 can't imagine my life without these four things being a constant, a constant practice in my 70 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:26,240 life in various forms. Worshipping him, connecting with other people, being able to serve somewhere 71 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:31,560 in the body of Christ for his glory and giving faithfully and even generously as he leads. 72 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,760 All those things are key pieces of my spiritual growth and they'll be key pieces of your spiritual 73 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:42,440 growth as well. Let me define generosity as we walk through this message. Generosity is 74 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:49,100 a quality of being kind and selfless and sharing money or valuables with others. It's often 75 00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:55,620 attributed to God and his loving, sharing, kind nature. John 3.16, one of the most famous 76 00:06:55,620 --> 00:07:00,600 verses in all the Bible talks about how giving God is. For God so loved the world that he 77 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:05,640 did what? He gave his only begotten son that whoever believes on him should not perish 78 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:12,560 but have everlasting life. God sets the bar high. He gives generously. He's a giving God. 79 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,960 And when we talk about generosity, we need to talk about reflecting the character of 80 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:23,680 God in our financial practices and in our giving and in our generosity. So the New Testament 81 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:29,440 church, this text here, talks about the kickoff, the opening quarter, if you will, of the New 82 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,840 Testament church and the regular practices that they settled into. You can see them in 83 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:38,320 verse 32. When you look at verse 42, you'll see the corporate worship, that is they gather 84 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,680 together. You saw them connecting with each other. There was community taking place. The 85 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:47,200 Bible talks about how they were encouraging one another and praying for one another. All 86 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:53,440 those things that I talked about a moment ago, those were found in verse 42 and also 87 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:59,520 generosity. Generosity is not an afterthought. It's something that comes out of the health 88 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:04,880 that was happening in the New Testament church. So let's see three things about generosity 89 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:10,360 in this text today. First of all, generosity is built upon spiritual health. Spiritually 90 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:19,040 healthy people learn to practice generosity above and beyond all other kinds of giving. 91 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:24,340 It says in verse 43, everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs 92 00:08:24,340 --> 00:08:28,600 were taking place through the apostles. They were seeing God answer prayer. They were seeing 93 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:32,920 the fellowship of the believers taking place. They were worshiping the resurrected and living 94 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:38,800 Lord Jesus Christ. All those things describe a spiritually healthy environment. That's 95 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:43,820 where they were. They were practicing spiritual health. They were being reminded of why the 96 00:08:43,820 --> 00:08:48,600 church gathered. By the way, the Church of Jesus Christ or Christianity as some call 97 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:54,800 it is not a religion. It's a group of people following a living Lord Jesus Christ. Some 98 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:59,000 people want to make it out to be a religion, but that's not what you see recorded in these 99 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,680 pages. They did not get together and say, we need to start a religion. We need to organize 100 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:09,520 it. We need to make sure that everybody knows our rules and laws and all those things and 101 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:14,880 we're just going to build monuments to somebody or even to ourselves and we're going to call 102 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:19,280 it a religious system of some kind. Hey, let's pack Christ's name on it. That's not how the 103 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:24,160 church began. The church began with a group of people that were so enamored in following 104 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:31,120 Christ, so in love with Him because of His obvious love for them that they met together 105 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:37,040 to refresh and renew and remember all that He had done for them. That's what was happening. 106 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:42,880 Very natural, very grassroots, very normal for the New Testament church. So that's what 107 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:50,880 was happening and all that they'd seen happen was fueling this eventual act of generosity 108 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:55,760 that you see in these pages. They'd watch Jesus live. They'd watch Him minister. They'd 109 00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:01,840 watch Him die. They'd watch Him rise again. They'd watch the promise of the Holy Spirit 110 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:07,920 be fulfilled and He came down upon them and with them at Pentecost. So now they're growing. 111 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:12,560 They're walking with Christ. They're praying. They're experiencing the life that Jesus called 112 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:17,520 them to on a whole different level. In fact, it says in John chapter 14 verse 12, Jesus 113 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:24,320 is speaking to the disciples saying, I must go away. And when I go away, greater things 114 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:29,440 than these you shall see because I go to be with the Father. And you'll have the presence 115 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:35,400 of the Holy Spirit. You will in multiple forms have many people who are seeking to do what 116 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,600 I was doing on this planet and you'll see greater things when I'm gone to be with the 117 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:44,920 Father, greater in terms of magnitude or scope and everything that Jesus said was coming 118 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:50,160 to pass in this New Testament church and it was amazing. And one of the lessons they were 119 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:56,320 learning was the lesson of generosity. It's not the only lesson, but it was a big one. 120 00:10:56,320 --> 00:11:00,760 Now what we're talking about in Acts chapter two is not tithing. Tithing is in a different 121 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,040 portion of the scripture and we won't speak a lot about tithing today other than to say 122 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:11,920 that many of these were Jewish believers who had already committed to that kind of giving 123 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:17,800 in their Jewish worship of God, Jehovah, to God. And in their worship of him tithing was 124 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,760 a part of what they do. It's evident there was already established a practice in those 125 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:29,080 Jewish believers and even more so in their dedication to Christ. The teaching of Jesus 126 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:35,560 as you read the Bible affirms the tithe, tithe that does not remove the tithe. Jesus came 127 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:42,200 to fulfill the law, but he also came to help us know how to live life in every way. We 128 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,720 all as we read the scriptures understand that the Bible says that the tithe belongs to the 129 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,840 Lord. When I receive a paycheck, the first thing I remember is what I was taught and 130 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:54,840 what I read in the Bible that the first 10th belongs to the Lord. It's a lot easier to 131 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:59,480 learn that when you're little by the way. One of my stories is my dad gave me 10 dimes. 132 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:03,320 I got a dollar a week for allowance by the way. A dollar a week for allowance. That doesn't 133 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:07,600 sound like a lot, but that's a lot in a five and dime store where you sell candy and buy 134 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:12,040 it for a penny apiece. Anybody remember a five and dime story? Anybody remember penny 135 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,600 candy? You could get sick on that stuff for a dollar. You know you could do that really 136 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:20,680 easy. And I can remember he gave me my allowance in dimes and I used to wonder about that. 137 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:23,880 Quarters were bigger, they were shinier. A silver dollar would be even better, but he 138 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,640 gave me the dimes and I learned later on the reason he gave me the dimes is so I could 139 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,520 easily take a dime and give it to the Lord. And I remember putting a dime in the offering 140 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:38,000 plate or in my envelope. We were Baptist so we did it with envelope. Put it in the envelope. 141 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,880 Every week when I was like six, seven, eight years old it became a practice. And as I grew 142 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:49,800 older in life I realized it was a spiritual practice. It was a wise practice and I learned 143 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,920 God provided for me in ways that I had no idea he would do when I was worried about 144 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:59,240 that dime. I didn't need to be worried about it. The tithe belongs to the Lord. As he provides 145 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:05,240 for us then we return the tithe to him. Now you see the phrase there where it talks about 146 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:10,040 the apostles teaching. That's part of what they were talking about as they met together. 147 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:16,040 And what this is is the apostles were refreshing and rehearsing to all that were there what 148 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:21,760 Jesus had taught them. The scrolls with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The gospels had not been 149 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,880 all penned yet. They were not all together yet. So these apostles were teaching them 150 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:32,680 what Jesus had taught them. There's a passage in Matthew chapter 23 verse 23 where Jesus 151 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:36,020 is rebuking the Pharisees and the scribes. And I want you to notice what it says because 152 00:13:36,020 --> 00:13:43,960 he rebukes them for their heart but also commends them for their giving. It says, Roll you scribes 153 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:50,320 and Pharisees hypocrites for you tithe meant and deal in common. These are small herbs 154 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,960 that are part of what they gave as a result of all that they had grown in their garden 155 00:13:54,960 --> 00:14:00,120 or all that they had. You tithe meant and deal in common and have neglected the weightier 156 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:06,080 provisions of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. But these are the things you 157 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:11,500 should have done without neglecting the others. In other words Jesus is not saying oh you 158 00:14:11,500 --> 00:14:16,280 shouldn't even think about the tithe. He was saying you should think about your hearts 159 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:21,840 as you give a tithe. Jesus gave us some good indications that the New Testament church 160 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:29,040 was to practice this idea of tithing. We teach that here at our church. All of our deacons 161 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:33,120 commit to that. Our teachers are to commit to that. Our staff obviously commit to that. 162 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:37,840 We just believe God blesses that in huge huge ways. But that's not what this passage is 163 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:44,640 talking about. This passage is talking about something above and beyond that. It is generosity 164 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:51,440 and generosity is going beyond the tithe. Generosity is something that God moves in 165 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:56,400 our heart to do when a need is presented or we're made aware of or even if we don't know 166 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:01,100 why but God lays on our heart to do a certain thing, to give a certain thing. Generosity 167 00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:06,520 happens as a result of obedience to that. And the reason I want to mention tithes to 168 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:13,680 you today is because we won't experience generosity if we haven't learned to give regularly in 169 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:20,000 the first place. There's something about that regular giving that lets me trust God enough 170 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:26,120 that when he leads me to do something above and beyond I'm able to do it because I'm already 171 00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:30,560 in the practice of giving. And I'm aware there are people today that haven't yet learned 172 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:34,800 to trust God for their finances. Enough to tithe and I get that. There's a process sometimes 173 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:39,280 with people but it's such a great lesson to learn. It's such an amazing thing that God 174 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:47,160 does in providing for us and getting us to trust him in that way. So all this to say, 175 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,760 these people were walking in spiritual health. They were worshiping together. They were, 176 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:56,880 they were fellowshiping. They were understanding the word, the teachings of Jesus. And then 177 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:02,680 there is another thing that God began to unfold with them in the way of generosity. And that's 178 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,720 where I want you to see this second piece that's in Acts chapter two. Generosity flows 179 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:15,240 out of obedience. Notice what it says in verse 45. And all those who had believed were together 180 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:19,200 and had all things in common and they began selling their property and possessions and 181 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:25,760 were sharing them with all as anyone might have need. Now let me be clear about this 182 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:30,360 text right here because so many have taken this text and said a variety of things about 183 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:37,160 it that are not true. What was taking place was a series of acts of obedience to the Holy 184 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:42,640 Spirit. Now remember the Holy Spirit has fallen upon them. They're amazed by his presence, 185 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,800 his power. And they're amazed by the fact that when they're all gathered together, they 186 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:51,400 sense his presence. And what's happening is he's leading them to do these things and they're 187 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,600 even selling property and everything else they're led to do. What I want you to also 188 00:16:55,600 --> 00:17:02,080 see is that this was not a system of coercion or shame. It's not done out of a sense of 189 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:09,240 privilege or to even the levels of what people had or didn't have. It wasn't communism. It 190 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:15,640 wasn't communal living. All those things I've heard point into this text as that's a verification 191 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:21,200 for why we should be communists or have communal living. Let me just say it's saying none of 192 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:28,200 those things. But it is saying that when the Holy Spirit led them to sacrificial giving, 193 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:34,160 that they were following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If you jump down to Acts 194 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:39,400 chapter four, two chapters later, there's a further description here. It says all who 195 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,080 were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay 196 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:49,240 them at the apostles' feet and they would be distributed to each as any had need. So 197 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:54,920 again these gifts were free acts of obedience under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. He 198 00:17:54,920 --> 00:18:02,160 was leading them in giving, leading them in generosity, leading them in loving and encouraging 199 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:07,040 them to trust him with all this. And they were giving these extravagant gifts so that 200 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:11,480 the apostles could distribute those in whatever way was necessary. Now if you're really bold 201 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:15,080 and you're really courageous and you want to read how serious God takes giving, go to 202 00:18:15,080 --> 00:18:20,440 Acts chapter five. Anybody know what Acts five talks about? Two people named Ananias 203 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:26,680 and Sapphira who were not going to end well when it comes to their giving. And the whole 204 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:31,040 of Acts chapter five reminds us that God takes giving very seriously. But I want you to see 205 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:37,040 something here in Acts chapter five. When Peter confronted Ananias and Sapphira, because 206 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:39,880 what was happening was they said they were going to sell their property and they were 207 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:44,840 going to give it all to God and they didn't give it all to God and they lied. Peter said 208 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:48,520 why did you lie to the Holy Spirit and to others? But there's a line in here that I 209 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:56,000 want you to see. Peter said while it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after 210 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:02,880 it was sold, was it not under your control? Peter said look, this is something you've 211 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:07,880 chosen to do and lie about it. You had the freedom to act in obedience to the Lord or 212 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:13,800 not in obedience to the Lord, but it's not going to end well for you because you decided 213 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:19,560 to lie to the Holy Spirit and to others. Now I'll just say you have to be courageous to 214 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:25,080 read Acts chapter five. It doesn't end well and it tells us that God takes giving very 215 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:31,440 seriously and that we ought to listen to him well and obey him when he leads us. You say 216 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:37,680 well how do I navigate all that? Here's a simple way, simple formula. Just obey God 217 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:43,160 and leave the rest to him. Somebody say those three words with me. Just obey God. Say it 218 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:50,320 with me. Just obey God. How do you do anything else he leads you to do? Just obey God and 219 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,960 leave the rest up to him. He leads you to witness to somebody that you're a little bit 220 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,760 afraid to witness to. Just obey God and leave the rest up to him. He's leading you to prayer 221 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:02,400 for somebody else because you don't know what's going on in their life and you feel a burden 222 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:07,840 for them. How do you respond to that? That pressure? Just obey God and leave the rest 223 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,960 up to him. It's true of every aspect of the Christian life. If he's alive, if he's real, 224 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:18,520 if the Holy Spirit is inside of us we can trust him by just obeying God and leaving 225 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:25,480 the rest up to him. So these gifts in Acts 2 and Acts 4 were free acts of obedience. 226 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:29,220 They were listening to the Lord. They were following his leadership and incredible things 227 00:20:29,220 --> 00:20:36,720 began to happen. Generosity takes place and it's powerful. I just say sometimes generosity 228 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:42,960 is not always a financial gift. It's not always a sacrificial gift. Sometimes it's extremely 229 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:48,360 generous to give yourself to something that needs to take place but you're doing it a 230 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:53,600 sacrifice to yourself. I'm going to tell you about two acts of obedience that happened 231 00:20:53,600 --> 00:21:00,480 to me more than 25 years ago now. But these two acts of obedience are two acts that I 232 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:05,760 think demonstrate the generosity of God and how he orchestrates all this. More than 25 233 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:12,240 years ago I was a pastor and my wife and I were called to come to another church and 234 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:16,280 as we were called to go to that church, the church let us know their financial condition 235 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:21,160 and it was disastrous. It was bad. In fact when we asked them for the salary, it took 236 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,360 them a long time for them to come up with a salary and the salary was much less than 237 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:28,560 what I was making at my previous church. By then we figured out how to have kids and we 238 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:32,400 had almost six kids by then. When you figure out how to have a lot of kids then you also 239 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:39,400 need to figure out how to make enough income to feed those kids, right? But the offer that 240 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:45,360 they gave me was very low and I talked to them a little bit about that because I really 241 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:52,360 generally felt God was leading us to take that role. So we took the role and we accepted 242 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:58,400 that salary and they told us, you know, when we become debt free, when we remove all this 243 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:02,800 big debt then we'll adjust the salary, we'll be more generous with that and I said that's 244 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:07,000 fine, we'll trust the Lord with that. So over the next few years we trusted the Lord with 245 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:12,560 that. It wasn't easy, it wasn't something that just happened like that. I was actually 246 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:17,400 had a couple of side streams of income. Back then we just called them part time jobs but 247 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,800 they're side streams now, right? It's a better way to say it. I did everything I needed to 248 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:26,720 do in order to provide for my family during that time. One day I got a phone call from 249 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:32,560 somebody I didn't know. I'd never met them before. They didn't know our situation, they 250 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,720 didn't know anything about our church. And this person says, I'm going to deliver an 251 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:42,040 envelope to you and I need you just to receive it. And I was curious of course, couldn't 252 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:46,640 wait to get that envelope, couldn't wait to open it up, had no idea what it was. And 253 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:50,920 when I got that envelope and opened it up, it was two full years of salary that that 254 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:56,240 church had been paying me. Two full years of salary. I didn't meet that person until 255 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,240 later, a couple of years, about a year down the road I met that person and thanked them 256 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:04,280 and told them a little bit of the story. And this person said, listen, I just want you 257 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,720 to know I had more joy in giving you that than you can possibly imagine. And I said 258 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:16,280 back to this person, oh, you can't imagine how much joy I had in receiving that. And 259 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:22,000 in that story, two acts of obedience, obeying what God tells you to do and trusting that 260 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:27,560 God will provide through the obedience of maybe somebody else who's just doing what 261 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:32,880 he told them to do. You say, well, how do you organize all that? And the answer is you 262 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:40,720 don't. The God who speaks the existence into existence, the whole universe into existence, 263 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,400 the God who knows how molecular structure works, who knows how to put all the stars 264 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:50,720 in the universe, that God can so coordinate, so control, he can so organize things that 265 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:55,760 he meets you need, but you just need to be obedient to him. Whether it's an act of service 266 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:00,600 or an act of giving, just do it and trust God with the rest. That was happening in this 267 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:06,840 New Testament church. And all kinds of people were giving up all kinds of property in order 268 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:12,280 to demonstrate that their trust in God was secure and that God was able to meet those 269 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:17,320 amazing needs and joy surrounds that kind of generosity. If you jump over to second 270 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:21,720 Corinthians, there's a great passage there in chapter nine, verses six to seven, where 271 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,960 Paul now is writing to the church at Corinth. And he said this, he said, now, this I say, 272 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:33,120 he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 273 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:38,320 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion. 274 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:45,000 And then he says, for God loves a cheerful giver. That's what he wants you to experience, 275 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:50,240 by the way. God doesn't need your money, but he wants you to be involved in how he provides 276 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:57,240 for needs all around and generosity helps move you into that place of watching him provide 277 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,080 and the joy that comes with it. Now, if you keep reading Acts chapter two, you're going 278 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:07,520 to find that generosity expands ministry. It's really obvious. The last part of this 279 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:13,240 verse or passage says, and the Lord was adding to their number day by day, those who were 280 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:18,600 being saved. All these things, the spiritual health I'm talking about, this corporate worship, 281 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,600 the connecting with others, this being able to rehearse what the words of Jesus really 282 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,320 were about, praying for one another, having community together. All these things, along 283 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:34,320 with generosity, allowed the ministry to thrive and to reach out to others. And then by the 284 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:38,720 time you get to Acts chapter six, a large number of widows who needed attention, who 285 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:43,560 needed daily food. I mean, you're pretty desperate in a culture when you need the daily serving 286 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:49,640 of food and the church was providing that, then that was all happening as that generosity 287 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:56,640 was unfolding. So the church followed that pattern, met needs around them. And in verse 288 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:01,580 seven of Acts chapter six, it said, the word of God kept on spreading and the number of 289 00:26:01,580 --> 00:26:05,840 disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the priests, 290 00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:12,840 that is the Jewish priests were becoming obedient to the faith. Generosity expands ministries, 291 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:21,120 really amazing. Now, before you came into the, you may have received a card and if you 292 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:25,240 didn't, you can certainly get one on the way out, but it looks something like this right 293 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,200 here. You have that? If you have that, I want you to look at it with me for a moment. Now, 294 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:31,600 many of you have already maybe read what's on the other side of that. If you don't have 295 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,060 it, you can get one on the way out, but I'm going to talk about that for just a few moments 296 00:26:35,060 --> 00:26:39,800 because what I want you to see is how the generosity of God working through this church 297 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:46,800 over the last 20 or more years has increased the way ministry happens to countless thousands 298 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:54,160 and 10,000s of lives. I'm going to read it on the backside of this. Over the past generation, 299 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,480 you've led the way. I'm saying you, Cross City Church, we said this in our earlier service, 300 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:03,040 we've said it north, we're saying it everywhere. You have led the way in these ways. You retired 301 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:08,520 the church debt. Through your generosity, we retired over $6 million of debt in 2007 302 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:14,400 and we remain debt free until this day. Folks, we just completed a $25 million renovation 303 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:19,320 project debt free and I think you ought to celebrate a little bit about that. I do. I 304 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:26,320 celebrate that. Generosity helps make that happen. We helped launch Kids Beach Club. 305 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:33,020 Kids Beach Club and their ministry and public schools has distributed 75,000 Bibles presented 306 00:27:33,020 --> 00:27:40,020 to the gospel, 116,310 times, led 10,000 kids to Christ and 155,000 kids listen to the gospel 307 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:50,080 weekly through KBC TV and you helped launch Kids Beach Club. Amen. Amen. I don't know 308 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:58,960 if you're familiar with Six Stones but Six Stones was started in 2009. It served over 309 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:05,600 59,000 people in food, in regular food, led 4800 people to Jesus in our community. We've 310 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:10,880 rebuilt almost a thousand homes with Six Stones. I just could go on and on about that ministry 311 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,640 but do you realize it was launched in this room with a group of people like yourself 312 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:19,680 and if you were in that room that day and you stood up and said, yes, we'll be generous 313 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:24,440 for the cause of our community to make a difference for the cause of Christ and it's still making 314 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,560 a difference. Amen to you for that. Give the Lord a hand for that as well. What's wrong 315 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:35,560 with clapping? We launched and invested Mid-City Women's Center. 38,784 babies have been saved. 316 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:46,440 The gospel shared 46,000 times, 3,266 people have made professions of faith in 40 years 317 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:53,440 of this church supporting that. One more time, give a hand to the Lord. Wow, what a powerful 318 00:28:53,440 --> 00:29:00,440 thing. And as I already shared, you gave more than 14 million, I guess I need to say more 319 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:07,120 zeros to that, 14 million to this renovation here of our buildings. We watched the Lord 320 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:11,680 provide for us in just unpredictable ways. We sold a piece of property across the street. 321 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:18,160 We bought for $1 million. We sold it for $9.5 million and God provided for us to prepare 322 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,760 for the next generation and He's done so well. Part of what I want to share with you today, 323 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:27,480 the announcement I want to share with you today, has to do with generosity. Our North 324 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:31,520 campus that we launched five years ago has been working for five years. They've been 325 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:36,880 in five different locations, by the way, five different locations. Pandemic shut down the 326 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:40,440 school they were in and they went to a hotel, then they went to a health club, then they 327 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:45,280 went back to a school and then finally to another school. Five different times they've 328 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:50,520 moved in five years and I celebrated five years with them out there this morning at 329 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:54,960 10 o'clock service and it's a great thing to watch those folks out there in the north 330 00:29:54,960 --> 00:30:01,160 part of Tarrant County doing everything they can to get the gospel out to folks there. 331 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:06,560 But an act of generosity about a year ago, a year and a half ago now, gave them $2 million 332 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:13,560 to look for land. So we've been looking. One day, well, the campus pastor and I were 333 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,680 in my car I think. We were on the piece of property. We actually drove onto the piece 334 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:22,080 of property that we're praying about and ultimately the owner didn't want to sell that piece of 335 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:26,360 property but we were staying there and we knew we had $2 million that had been given. 336 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:29,920 We knew that it was going to take a little bit more than that but we also knew that that's 337 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:35,840 the piece that we really were praying about. And while we were seated there, I said let's 338 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:41,000 make a phone call. We made a phone call to a friend of both of ours, a member of our 339 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:46,560 church, and I said we're on a piece of property that we hope will someday be the piece that 340 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:51,880 we build on but whether it's this property or anything else, you've asked if you could 341 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:56,560 be kept up to speed on where we're at. This is where we're at. And as I said, ultimately 342 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:02,840 we didn't get that piece of property and that gentleman said, okay, thanks for letting me 343 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:08,680 know and I'll be in prayer about it. Well, just last week he called us and he said, I 344 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,360 want you to pick up a package. And actually our staff member Kent Wells said, I'm going 345 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:16,360 to be late to a staff meeting because I need to pick up a package and I don't like people 346 00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:20,480 to be late to staff meetings and he knows that. So he said, trust me John, you're going 347 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:24,720 to want me to be late to this meeting. I said, okay. He goes to the meeting and he comes 348 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:29,440 back with a $3 million check for the North property. And that's my announcement I have 349 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:37,280 to make today, the generosity of someone that says, I want this to happen. Now all I'm doing 350 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:44,560 is talking to you about how God works in ways of generosity, how he moves in one heart or 351 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:51,640 more than one heart to bring about expanded ministry. And that's what's taking place. 352 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:55,680 If you think generosity doesn't bless people, then you're not really listening. You're not 353 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:00,320 really looking around at all the different ways generosity over the years has blessed 354 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:07,040 people. But let me just say, it's not just about generosity. Every generous act, every 355 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:12,400 time we get, every time we obey the Lord and doing what he's told us to do, the bigger 356 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:19,960 picture is we reflect the heart and the love of a generous God who gave his own son for 357 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:26,720 us. I read this last week and I want to read it to you, something I found on a website 358 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,600 called gotquestions.org. I was just doing a little research on generosity and I think 359 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:36,680 it was a great paragraph. God's generosity is everywhere around us. God created a planet 360 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:41,840 called earth that is perfectly made to sustain us and provide for our needs and pleasures. 361 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:48,160 He supplied us with color, light, sound, and the ability to taste and enjoy and hear and 362 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:54,320 appreciate and touch and be satisfied above all. God demonstrated his generosity when 363 00:32:54,320 --> 00:33:01,520 he offered his son as a sacrifice to alone die for our sins. In the face of such generosity, 364 00:33:01,520 --> 00:33:07,920 we can only say thanks be to God for this indescribable gift. The gift of Jesus to sinful 365 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:15,160 mankind was the ultimate act of generosity and all we do as we act in obedience to God 366 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:20,880 in areas of generosity is reflect that love of God. He's our provider but he also is 367 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:25,880 the one that loves us and sacrificed his own son for us. I want you to think about this 368 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:31,400 when you give or when you listen to the Lord lead you to do something generous, whether 369 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:35,880 it's help someone that lives next door to you, whether it's write a check for some ministry 370 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:40,440 you're aware of, whatever it is. And again, this is not an appeal to you to do any one 371 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:46,520 thing but for you to rather think about generosity as reflecting the character of God in your 372 00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:54,560 daily life. God wants us to glorify him and that's what reflecting his character really 373 00:33:54,560 --> 00:34:01,840 is is glorifying God, honoring him and his generosity in the way we live. So I'm going 374 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:06,000 to conclude today by asking you a series of questions. Are you trusting God with your 375 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:12,400 life? Are you trusting him with your direction, with your purpose? Some of you in this room 376 00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:17,840 need to be asked, are you trusting him for your salvation? An incredible gift Jesus died 377 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:22,600 on the cross to give you of eternal life and forgiveness of sin. Are you trusting him with 378 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:31,120 your finances, with your future, with your joy? I can't remember one act that God has 379 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:36,720 led me to do in the way of generosity that kept me from having joy I otherwise would 380 00:34:36,720 --> 00:34:43,280 have pursued with that money. No, I gave it as he led and got greater joy than that thing, 381 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:50,880 whatever that is, could have brought me. Trust God with your life. Trust God with your eternity. 382 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:56,800 Trust him with your giving. If I can trust God for all time and all eternity, I can trust 383 00:34:56,800 --> 00:35:02,280 him with a few dollars in my bank account. I can trust him to lead me in a way that will 384 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:07,680 ultimately honor him. That's what I'm asking you to do. That's what the New Testament church 385 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:14,520 did. Learn the practice of generosity. And then why does God move in your life in ways 386 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:20,680 that you didn't anticipate and blesses people in a way you didn't know was possible? In 387 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,000 just a moment I'm going to close us in prayer and there's a couple of invitations I want 388 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:29,040 to give you today. First of all, always, always I want to ask you if you want to talk about 389 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:33,720 making a decision for Christ, I steer you towards these two decision stations at the 390 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:38,340 exits of our door. We'll have people behind those decision stations waiting to talk to 391 00:35:38,340 --> 00:35:43,200 you about relationship with Christ. What does it mean to trust Christ for your salvation, 392 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:47,680 to be forgiven of sin? What does that mean? We can have that conversation. Secondly, I 393 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:52,600 invite you to our guest reception because there I would love to meet you. If you're 394 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:56,160 new here, I would love to meet you, talk to you. I have a book I'd love to give you. I'd 395 00:35:56,160 --> 00:36:01,520 love to answer any questions that you may have. Next, I want to urge you, I want to 396 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:06,480 invite you to invite others to come to what's happening next week. As you leave today, you'll 397 00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:11,360 see this Healthy Home Conference brochure. We'll be answering the question, what was 398 00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:16,200 I created to be? In other words, we'll be talking about identity all day long through 399 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:21,360 our services and our special breakouts and our connection classes. Identity is a really, 400 00:36:21,360 --> 00:36:27,280 really big deal today. There's even a politics identity thing that's happening today. There 401 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:31,240 is gender identity, there is sexual identity, all these things. But let's get back to the 402 00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:36,040 original question, what did God create me to be? And we're going to answer that question 403 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:40,160 throughout the day. This will show you a program of what's happening. Now, if you really want 404 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:44,800 to get some really deep answers to those questions and how culture is asking them, we're going 405 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:50,240 to have a Q&A and a panel on the stage at our two o'clock session. As you'll see the 406 00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:53,920 schedule, you'll see we're coming back after lunch for the two o'clock session with some 407 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:58,520 great leaders in the kingdom that will be helping answer the questions and many questions 408 00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:02,600 that are happening in our culture today. Let me also say to you that how we share these 409 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:08,800 truths will be loving and kind and yet as clear as scripture, which is what gives us 410 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:12,600 the understanding of identity that we should have. So let's stand together for a closing 411 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:18,240 word of prayer and I invite you to all these things. Father, in Jesus' name, so, so very 412 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:24,080 grateful today that you have called us together to worship. Father, I pray today that as we 413 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:29,920 look at the pages of scripture, the practice of the New Testament church, as we listen 414 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:35,440 to the still small voice of your leadership, Lord, I pray that we might be bold enough 415 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,800 to be generous people, trusting you with all we have. Thank you, Father, for how you provide 416 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:47,320 for us. Lord, we trust you today. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. Have 417 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:48,160 a wonderful Lord's Day.