Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected
or to give online, go to connect .hcv .church
or give .hcv .church. If at any point during
this message you feel called to make a change
in your life, text change me to 9700. Thank you
and enjoy the message. Hey, good morning everyone.
How's everybody doing? You know, it's not a coincidence
that when I take a Sunday off and let someone
else share, that I got to bring something out
to make you think, what is he going to be talking
about today? If you're joining us from home,
thanks for welcoming us into your space. We're
so glad to have you joining us. I want to start
this morning. I received an email testimony a
few weeks ago that I just want to share with
all of you because it was so encouraging to me.
Hi, Pastor Chris. I just wanted to thank you
for the post -its for prayer on the cross idea.
In other words, the four crosses that are around
the room. I have an answered prayer request that
I would like to share with you. A few weeks ago,
I placed a posted prayer request on the cross
asking for people to pray for my little four
-year -old niece and my little three -year -old
nephew. They were homeless and living on the
streets. Unfortunately, their mother was in deep
drug addiction and her children had be taken
from her. I began to pray bold and specific prayers
asking God if it would be his will that a loving
and godly family would be able to take these
children and give them a life that they deserve.
Shortly after placing that post -it note on the
cross, I would like to give all God glory and
praise because he answered that prayer. A very
loving, let me continue, a very loving young
couple from our church came to the children's
rescue. They shared with me that they wanted
more children but were unable to have their own.
They also shared with me that God laid it on
their hearts to take both of these two young
children, give them a good and godly life. I
would like to thank everyone that prayed for
my niece and nephew, and most of all, I would
like to thank God for answered prayer. So in
other words, Hey, keep putting post -it notes
on those crosses because there's not a Sunday
that goes by that those post -it notes aren't
taken and people are praying over them every
single week. Amen? One other quick announcement
I want to share with everyone. This was given
to me on Friday. We are, if you would like to
know, Tri -State's best church. And here's the
crazy thing. I didn't even know we were in the
running. So I didn't even know we were in the
running, but we won it. And thank you to everyone
that voted for us. And I just want to give all
glory back to God, just like Linda did, because,
you know. Here's the reality. If it wasn't for
what he's doing in our community of faith, then
we wouldn't be voted anything. So God, thank
you for moving in our community of faith. Thank
you for all that you're doing. And we're just
humbled by receiving an award like that. So let's
open in prayer this morning. God, I'm just thankful
for each and every person that's here. God, that
you brought them here for a purpose, for just
to experience you and to be changed. Open our
hearts, God. to receive all that you have for
us. God, open our minds, unplug our ears, remove
distractions, and move in this place. In Jesus'
name, amen. Now, Mother Teresa gave an interview
to Lowe Magazine, and she was asked a simple
question. Is it only the affluent who give? Is
it only the affluent who give? She replied, no,
even the poorest of the poor give. For example,
the other day, a very poor beggar came to me
and said, everyone gives to you, and I also want
to give you 20 pesai, which is about two pence.
I thought to myself, what do I do? If I take
it, he won't have anything to eat. But if I don't
take it, it would hurt him so much more. So I
took his offering, and he was so happy because
he had given to Mother Teresa of Calcutta to
help the poor. Mother Teresa would go on to say,
giving cleans the heart and helps you to get
closer to God. You get so much back in return.
Generosity, see, is not just a nice character
trait that people have. It's right at the heart
of God. Author C .S. Lewis defined Christianity
as a kind of giving. And he said this because
God poured out his generosity on you and me through
Jesus. 316, for God so loved the world, he gave.
And you and I are called to respond in faith
and generosity toward others. See, the key to
the fullness of the blessing from God, to walk
in that fullness, is generosity. Psalm 37, 21
says, the righteous give generously. And here's
the reality. We don't ever graduate from generosity.
This is a quality that we will continue to grow
in for our entire lives. It's hard to grow in
generosity because our default settings are not
generosity. Our default setting is stinginess.
And it's not just me. All of us. All of us know
what it means to be stingy. It's wired within
us. It's called our sin nature, right? People
are out to gain all that we can to achieve more.
But this morning, I'm believing God is going
to do something supernatural as we conclude our
series, Rooted, practicing the way of Jesus with
a talk on how to grow in generosity. And listen,
this has been a great, simple series, right?
A reminder that Jesus was simple. And if you
miss any of the talks, you can go back and listen
to them on our YouTube page. But I want to encourage
you, simplicity is the way of life. And this
morning, we're going to learn how to live an
abundant life, which is not a life of bless me,
bless me, bless me, but more like the prayer,
God, use me. To let your love and your life flow
through me and into others. Right? Followers
of Jesus are not supposed to die full. We're
supposed to die empty. Which leads us to our
first thought. See, humanity's hearts are connected
to money. Humanity's hearts are connected to
money. And how do I know this? Well, every time
that we get paid, every time that I receive our
paycheck, this becomes a check. A check to see,
am I going to master this, or is this going to
master me? Am I going to serve this, or is this
going to serve me? It's a check to see, whose
is this really? Just because I'm putting it into
my bank account doesn't mean it's mine. And please
understand that this journey toward generosity,
it's way deeper than money, but we have to talk
about money and generosity because Jesus talked
about it, right? He talked about it. Jesus taught
on stewardship more than any other topic. Speaking
words like this in Matthew 6, 21, wherever your
treasure is, there. the desires of your hearts
will also be. See, God does not need our money,
but money can be a gauge that measures our spiritual
health. You know, where we are in our relationship
with God. Because when it comes to money, our
hearts are inextricably connected to it. It's
just a part of it. In verse 24, Jesus says, no
one can serve two masters. For you will hate
one and love the other. You will be devoted to
one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and be enslaved to money. Now think about that
for a moment. God says, my number one competitor,
right? It's not football. It's not sex. It's
what? It's money. You cannot serve both. And
why would God put money on the same scale as
himself? Because money will say things to us
that God is supposed to say. Money will say things
like, let me open those doors for you. Money
will say, let me make a way for you. Money whispers
in our ear, let me show you where your value
and your significance really are. See, money
will say things to us that only God is supposed
to provide for us. And to take it a step further,
studies have now shown that when we start to
make more money, when we grow in our income,
it's interesting what happens to a person's psychology.
See, whenever people start making more money
and start climbing the economic ladder, we don't
usually think, well, now I have more responsibility
to be generous. Right? That's not the first thing
that goes through our mind. We don't even think,
I make more money than other people. See, psychologists
have now found that humanity tends to think,
I'm now better than other people because I make
more than you. Look at what I drive. Look at
what I wear. I'm better than you, which is a
strange thought to have. To think that you are
better than anybody else, especially because
the Bible lets us know in Genesis 2 -7 that God
created man and woman from the very dirt of the
earth. Let me say that again. The dirt of the
earth, which leads us to our next thought. See,
all of humanity came from dirt. We come from
dirt. Genesis 2 -7, then the Lord God formed
the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed
the breath of life into the man's nostrils and
the man became a living person. Now, if there
was ever a Bible verse that would stop us in
our tracks and keep us from becoming arrogant,
right? If you're struggling with any type of
pride, please turn to or memorize Genesis 2 -7
from the message. God formed man out of dirt
from the ground and blew into his nostrils the
breath of life. The man came alive, a living
soul. That should get rid of your pride right
there. The Bible is clear that none of us came
from some amazing celestial substance or angelic
creation. All of us came from, let's say it together,
dirt. Dirt. Now do me a favor. Look at the person
to your left. Now look at the person to your
right. Now look at the person behind you. Now
look at the person in front of you. According
to Genesis 2 -7, every person you looked at is
a dirt bag. Now look at your neighbor and say,
you're just the dirt bag. Doesn't that feel good?
Because all of us came from nothing. We came
from nothing. Right? So let me, I know all of
you, some of you, I'm sorry, most of you, you
need a little help. So let me give you a visual.
Okay? Let me give you a little visual. Humanity
came from dirt. Dirt. How many of you know this
didn't mess up our budget? Right? It's just dirt.
And every single person came from nothing but
dirt. And it's funny to think about all the things
we do with our dirt. Many of you got up this
morning and washed your dirt. At least I hope
you did. You put deodorant on your dirt. The
amount of money we spend on our dirt. We get
dirt manicured. We get dirt pedicured. We work
out our dirt at the gym. People spend billions
of dollars around the world on dirt surgery.
We have dirt suction, dirt lift, dirt tucks,
and all the other things we do to our dirt. But
here's the crazy thing. Of all the things, that
God could have used to create us, why did he
use dirt? Why did he use dirt? Because if you
think about it, God created everything with beauty
and splendor. I mean, the last time you saw a
sunrise or a sunset, it's the handiwork of God.
I was away last week spending time with my daughters
in Florida. And when I walk along the beach and
see the vastness of the ocean, my heart leaps.
Did you know that God's the interior designer
of heaven? And he designed streets with gold.
And the gates are made of pearl. But when he
got ready to create you and me, his prized possession.
The one he sent his only son to die for on a
cross. Of all the things he could have used,
he used dirt. Since the beginning of time. Here's
the crazy thing. God has actually been trying
to teach us something about who he is and about
how he works. God is holy, but he's not afraid
to work with things that are dirty. See, we serve
a God who is awesome, but is not afraid to work
with things that are awful. We serve a God who
is magnificent, but he is not intimidated by
the things that are ordinary, dirty, or mundane.
When all of humanity is trying to keep dirty
situations and people from them, God says, no,
bring me that dirt. I want that dirt. That dirt
that you think is insignificant, that person
you think I cannot use, I will put my hands on
that dirt and I will shape that dirt. I will
work with that dirt and I will use that dirt
to further my kingdom. Church, that's good news.
And we need to thank God that he doesn't need
photoshopped Pinterest perfect people to change
his kingdom. God is showing us that he can work
with dirt. He can work with all our messed up,
God issues, dirty situations. And not only does
he show us this, but in the creation narrative,
we, you and I, are the only thing that God put
his hands on. He reached down and he what? He
touched the dirt. We're the only thing he put
his hands on. And not only did he touch the dirt,
but he breathed into the dirt and it came alive
and became a living soul, which leads us to our
next thought. The breath of God is inside each
of us. God formed man out of dirt from the ground
and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life.
The man came alive, a living soul. I want you
to pause and think about that for a second. The
breath. of God is on the inside of every one
of you, whether you believe in God or not. And
do you know what your most valuable asset is?
It's not your house. It's not your boat. It's
not your car or your jewelry. It's not even your
financial portfolio. The most valuable asset
you have is that the breath of God is inside
each of you. A generous God put his breath in
humanity and then gives us the opportunity to
be generous in our life and give it back to him.
So this morning, ask yourself, what are you doing
with that breath? What are you doing with the
borrowed breath that God gave you? Because not
only that, God sent his son to earth in the person
of Jesus who points us back to the father and
then through his death, burial and resurrection
connects us to the father and now inhabits our
lives for those that believe. Romans 8, 11, the
spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead
lives in you. And just as God raised Christ from
the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies
by the same spirit living in you. See, God works
with dirt, lives in dirt. And did you know dirt
is the only environment that is conducive for
a seed to grow? Can you put seed in a diamond?
Can you put seed in gold? But if you get some
dirt. and you put a little seed in this dirt,
what happens? It grows. It grows, and it blossoms
into something beautiful and powerful. Just another
reminder that we follow a good, good father.
And not only is he a good, good father, but he's
a good, good gardener. And although we come from
dirt, there's a seed inside of you, and that
seed is a gift. And this morning, God is ready
for you to stir it up. Someone say stir it up.
See, generosity starts with somebody who's not
stored up the gift of God, but has made a decision
to stir up the gift of God, which leads to our
final thought. See, our generous God placed good
gifts inside of us. 2 Timothy 1, verses 3 -7.
Timothy, I thank God for you, the God I serve
with a clear conscience just as my ancestors
did. Night and day, I constantly remember you
in my prayers. I long to see you again, for I
remember your tears as we parted. And I will
be filled with joy when we are together again.
I remember your genuine faith, for you share
the faith that first filled your grandmother
Lois. and your mother Eunice. And I know that
same faith continues strong in you. This is why
I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual
gift God gave you when I laid hands on you. For
God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity,
but of power, love, and self -discipline. Now
from 2 Timothy 1 .6, from the New King James
Version, Therefore, Timothy, I remind you to
Stir up the gift of God which is in you through
the laying on of my hands. So Paul, he's writing
to his spiritual son, Timothy. And he's letting
him know about the gift that God has placed on
the inside of him. But you can't really appreciate
what Paul is writing to Timothy until you understand
the context from which Paul is writing from.
Paul is writing 2 Timothy from a jail cell. So
he's in jail, and whenever you read 2 Timothy,
you're hearing the psychology of somebody who
knows they're about to die. Paul is given a death
sentence. He knows his life is coming to an end,
and when you know you're about to die, the words
that you speak, they're powerful, and they mean
something. I mean, if you're about to die, You
don't have time to waste. If I was to tell you
you only had 24 hours to live, binge -watching
Netflix is not important. If you only had 24
hours to live scrolling through social media
and posting on Instagram, it's not a priority.
So I find it interesting in the last moments
of Paul's life, of all the things he could have
written about, He feels the need to tell his
spiritual son, Timothy, whatever you do, whatever
you do, stir up the gift of God on the inside
of you. Paul is saying, Timothy, Paul is saying,
church, God gave you a direct deposit. And Paul
feels the need to tell Timothy, Stir it up. Stir
it up. Why? Why would he be writing these words?
Because church, that's what life is all about.
That's what life's all about. What did you do
with what God put in you? See, when we get to
heaven, God's not going to ask you how many times
you read the Bible. He's not. Should we read
the Bible? Yes. Yes, we should. But he's not
going to ask you that question. He's not going
to ask you how many times you jumped up and down
or wept during your favorite worship song. He's
not going to ask you. God's not going to look
at you and say, you were such a success on your
job. See, God, he's going to want to know, what
did you do with that deposit? What did you do
with the opportunities that I put on the inside
of you? Are you breathing out what I breathed
into you? Since the beginning of time. See, we
are living our entire lives on this earth to
hear two words. Two words. Matthew 25, 23. The
master said. God said, well done, my good and
faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling
this small amount. And so now I will give you
many more responsibilities. And when we are using
our gifts, notice what God does. Let's celebrate
together. And notice God didn't say. Well posted,
my good and faithful servant. God didn't say,
well fought, my good and faithful servant. Well
dreamed, my good and faithful servant. What did
God say? Well done. And that is why Paul says
in 2 Corinthians 4 -7, we now have this light
shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like
fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.
This makes it clear that our great power is from
God, not from ourselves. Paul writes in the book
of Romans, Romans 12, 6 -8, he says, In his grace,
God has given us different gifts for doing certain
things well. So if God has given you the ability
to prophesy, speak out as much faith as God has
given you. If your gift is serving others, serve
them well. If you're a teacher, teach well. If
your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.
If it is giving, give generously. If God is giving
you leadership ability, take the responsibility
seriously. And if you have the gift of showing
kindness to others, do it gladly. Notice what
Paul is writing to us. Do something with the
gift that is inside of you. He's waiting on all
of us to do something. Stir up the gift that's
inside of you. Church, I gave you a deposit.
You got to stir it up. I mean, Bob Marley's song
just took on a whole new meaning. That's got
to become a playlist for all of us. Stir it up.
Stir it up. Can I just share with you what blesses
my heart? So I was walking out through the kids'
hallway, right, on the way here to share with
you. And I high -fived a guy named Alva on the
way towards. He was going towards the kids' room,
and I was coming towards you. And Alva, okay,
and please understand, face tattoos, former addict,
strung out, on. His deathbed, literally. But
God saved him. I'm not making it up. He'll tell
you his story. He smiled at me and high -fived
me and said, I'm going to teach the kids. You
know what I thought on the way out here? I wonder
how many parents are going to be concerned. When
they see Alva teaching their kids. But I shouldn't
have that thought. You know why? Because Alva
is using his what? His gifts. You want to know
how to experience abundant life? Living an abundant
life is the day we realize the gift that's inside
of us. That's when it all changes. Because inside
every one of you is what? A gift. All of you
have this inside of you. But I'd be willing to
say three quarters of you haven't even opened
it. And that's the sad part about the American
church. You're afraid to open your gift. One
author says it this way, and it's not Mark Twain.
There's two important days in your life. Not
the day you're born and the day you die, but
the day you're born and the day you find out
why you were born. Stir up the gift. See, generosity,
because some of you there are thinking, Chris,
what in the world does dirt and gifts have to
do with generosity? For a generous God put that
gift inside of you, inside of me. And now he's
saying, will you use it for me to further my
kingdom? But so many of you, you sit here, you
don't even know what your gifts are. Well, Chris,
I don't even know where to start. I don't even
know what to do. Well, let's quickly go through
a few action steps of what it means to stir up
the gifts. And notice 2 Timothy 1 .6, Therefore
I remind you to stir up the gift of God which
is in you through the laying on of hands. Peter
wrote the same words in 2 Peter 1 .3, I think
it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir
up by the way of reminder. See, when we remember
something, we bring to our conscious minds something
we've already learned or experienced. The Bible
references remember or remind over 200 different
times. In other words, intentionally bring truth
into your minds. Because when you bring truth
in your mind, you stir up the Spirit inside of
you, and He then empowers you to use your gifts,
which moves us to step one. Remember your God
-given gifts. This is why I remind you to fan
into flames the spiritual gift God gave you.
And for those of you who say, well, Chris, I
don't know what my gifts are. Here's my response.
Ask your spouse. Seriously. Ask your spouse.
Well, I'm not married. Ask your friends. Ask
a peer. Right? Ask your parents. And you say,
well, Chris, what do I ask him? What do you see
in me? That's all you ask him. You go to somebody
you trust and you say, what do you see in me?
And they're going to share qualities about you
that you may not even be able to acknowledge
when you look in the mirror. And then when you
hear those truths, you begin to do more of it.
And you begin to love on people and extend grace
to people. Because not only do you remember your
gifts, number two, remember you have to put your
gifts into practice. This is why I remind you,
fan into flames or stir up the gift that God
has given you. And how are you using your gifts?
You know, Easter's coming. You saw those announcements
just block after block. Like, wow, we do a lot.
No wonder I tell everyone, hey, Chris, can I
meet with you after Easter? Chris, can we have
lunch after Easter? Easter's coming. Good Friday
giveaway, Easter egg hunt. There's all these
opportunities to serve, to bless kids, to be
like Alva, you know? And just extend love to
the next generation. And the question is, are
you willing to give up a little of your time?
Are you willing to stir up the gifts? This is
the, I'm making the initial announcement. HCV,
this May, will be doing our first annual, annual
bed build right here. I'm sorry, not here, but
somewhere. So listen, May 3rd, Saturday, May
3rd, we're going to build a bunch of beds for
people that don't have beds. Is that okay? Okay,
but here's the deal. Only 60 people, that's it,
ages 8 and up. Even the kids can carry the wood
and pack the bolts. And we're going to gather
for four hours. Everyone say four hours. From
8 to 12 on May 3rd. And we're going to build
a whole bunch of beds. And all those beds are
going to be given away to the tri -state area
absolutely free. All you have to do. Yeah, it's
a good thing. And notice I said first annual.
This is going to become an annual thing. Because
I believe that Jesus was simple and I believe
Jesus was practical. And guess what? Lives are
changed when they get a bed. Changed. You can
sign up at the Welcome Hub. Just mob them. You
only get 60. That's it. Top. That's it. 60 people.
Can we fill those spots? I think we can too.
Now this is kind of a curveball. I'm the president
of a local little league. And this year, we don't
have enough umpires. And we even pay our umpires.
Isn't that crazy? So if you like kids, young
people, and you think you can call balls and
strikes and outs, we need you. And we will pay
you. Every game that you work as an umpire, you
get paid to do it. So you can see Frank right
after this if you would like to umpire. Frank
is our umpire -in -chief at our Little League.
And he would love to sign you up to get behind
the plate, wear a mask, and get yelled at by
parents. But do you know the exciting thing?
You know the exciting thing about being an umpire?
You can walk over to said parents and say, get
out of here. And they have to leave. Because
I'll make them leave. See? It's a win -win. The
point? Use your gifts. You've got to use your
gifts. If you're just sitting in here twiddling
your thumbs, letting the time pass you by, you're
missing out on all that God's given you. Number
three, remember, there's nothing to fear. 2 Timothy
1 .7, For God has not given us a spirit of fear
and timidity. See, people, people in your sphere
of influence, they can handle your gift. They
like you being kind and generous and loving.
But not a whole lot of people can handle your
dirt. And you say, well, Chris, what's my dirt?
Your dirt is your humanity. Your dirt is that
part of you that you don't post on social media.
Because you don't want anybody to see it. And
so many people, they go through life showing
their gifts but hiding their dirt. And if we're
not careful, that's how you're going to start
approaching God. You're going to show God all
the good parts, but what are you going to hide?
The mess. Hey, God, you can use this. This is
me, but I'm going to hide this. But see, that's
not freedom. You want to know what freedom is?
Freedom and an abundant life is when we take
all of our dirt, all of our flaws and all of
our issues and our hangups, and we take our gift
that God has put inside of it and we just give
it back to God. And we say, God, you formed me,
use me. Because when we get it out of our hands
and into God's hands, that's when everything
changes. Which leads us to our final step. Remember,
And these are all good reminders. True or false?
God's spirit empowers us. For God, he's not given
us a spirit, a spirit, the Holy Spirit of fear
and timidity, but of what? Power, love, and self
-discipline. See, so many people, they try to
live their life in their own limited power and
their weakness. They want to hide from God. And
then every time the enemy knocks them down and
defeats them with guilt or bitterness or hatred
or insecurities or doubts or busyness or distraction
or pride or greed, they're knocked out for like
six months or a year. But you don't have to live
defeated lives. You don't have to be intimidated
by our enemy and fall into sin. You can live
victoriously when you just give it all back to
God. And you walk in his grace. And you tap into
that limitless, that unlimited power of the Holy
Spirit. When we're empowered by the Holy Spirit,
that's when we're walking in fullness. And that
power will never run dry. No matter how many
times you connect to it, it's always on. And
not only is it always on while we're alive here,
but it's on for eternity. This week, God spoke
to me, had a personal encounter through Phoenix.
Everyone knows about Phoenix. Love my Phoenix.
It's five years old, full of energy. If you've
seen the Energizer Bunny commercial, okay, that's
our Phoenix. Even at 9 .30 at night in bed, it's
just never stops. It's just the Energizer Bunny.
Anyway, so he's playing baseball. Five -year
-old playing baseball. He's learning the game.
And he only had short socks, okay? He only had
short socks. These are ankle socks. And he got
cleats, first ever pair of cleats. So he wears
his cleats all the time. Backyard, practice,
all the time. Anyway, he told mom, he says, mom,
I got a bee sting on my foot. Mom was like, what?
There's no bees. So she took his sock off and
looked at his foot, and he got a blister. He
didn't know what a blister was, so he called
it a bee sting. Bee got him. Hurts, Mom. He would
be literally laying in a tub with his leg out
like this. Hurts. Bee sting. I'm like, Phoenix,
it's not a bee sting, it's a blister. It's a
bee sting. Fine. It's a bee sting. So he took
him to Walmart. Like, we're going to get you
some socks. Took him to Walmart, and we spent
$5 on three pairs of socks. Five bucks on three
pairs of socks, right? Of course, he got the
cool ones, seen the design. Five bucks! The next
morning, he's getting dressed, and he looked
at Mom, Justin, and me, and he said, where's
my new socks? Where's my new socks? I want to
wear my new socks. Well, they're for practice.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to wear
my new socks. And he was more excited for a $5
pair of socks than what he was for a $40 transformer
a month ago. $5 pair of socks. And I was watching
him in his excitement, you know, putting his
socks on, pulling him up to his knees. And I
thought, God, why am I not like that? $5 pair
of socks. And God took me to Lamentations chapter
3, and it reads this. The faithful love of the
Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great.
Is his faithfulness. His mercies are new. Everyone
see that? His mercies are new and fresh. How
often? Every morning. Does that make sense? There
isn't a day that goes by if you're in a relationship
with Jesus that you shouldn't be excited about
a $5 pair of socks. Because guess what? God's
mercies, joy, love, and grace are so much more
important than a $5 pair of socks. But if we
can learn anything from a five -year -old little
boy, we should be excited about the gift that
we're given every day. And I want to challenge
you. as the church to stir up the gift that God
has put in your life. Because when you stir up
those gifts, guess what? Then that's when you
become a generous person. That's when you serve
others and love others and invite others. That's
when you give to the church. So many of you are
stingy with your money. You know what I mean?
Oh, I can't tithe. I can't give. I can't do that.
It's a gift. It's all a gift. And when you give,
when you give that gift back to God, he radically
changes your life. And he makes you a happy person
and a joyful person and a person that other people
want to be around. So if you look in the mirror
and you think, people don't want to be around
me, it's time to reopen that gift. Amen? Will
you stand with me? So if you're here this morning,
listen, I just want you to be honest. I want
to pray for you. We're going to do our prayer
that we always pray here in a minute, but I want
to pray for you. If you're here this morning
and you say, Chris, I need my gifts stirred up.
Put both hands up. Put them up. I need my gifts
stirred up. Holy Spirit, come. God, you see the
hands. You know the hearts already that we try
to hide our mess, but we can't. I just pray for
each and every hand that's raised, God. Stir
us up. Overwhelm us with your love. May each
and every person that's sitting in these chairs
be like Alva that passed me on the way to the
kids. I'm going to serve. I'm going to serve.
May we all be generous, God, and give back to
you all that you've given us. In Jesus' name,
amen. So we're going to pray a simple prayer.
And all of you know that we do this every single
Sunday because we believe God brings people in
our midst that are distant and far from him.
Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt,
shame, regret, sin. Change me. I believe you're
God's son. I believe you died for me. Make me
new. Set me free. Fill me with your spirit. Stir
up my gifts so I can serve others. In Jesus'
name. Amen. Listen, if you prayed that prayer,
Good Friday is coming up. Get baptized. If you
need to get baptized, Good Friday service. There
were several words of knowledge I want to share
with you before we go. Listen, inside of your
left ankle, you're experiencing pain. You have
a broken collarbone. You have a growth in your
armpit, which is kind of gross, but we really
need to pray for you. You have pain on the front
of your left knee. you have pain on the right
side of your rib cage, and you have discomfort
in your right eye that's causing blurred vision
and you need healing. So if you have any of those
needs or you have other needs, our prayer team
will be here on the right to pray for you. I
love you guys. I don't know, am I going there?
I'm going left today, so no one move on this
side. God bless you guys. Thank you for joining
us online. We look forward to our new series
next month. that you are working now so pour
it out oh pour it out