WEBVTT 00:00:01.449 --> 00:00:04.169 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:04.269 --> 00:00:08.429 Would God call you a generous person? And stop, 00:00:08.490 --> 00:00:10.689 stop. Right before you think about how much money 00:00:10.689 --> 00:00:14.529 you give, I want you to rethink the question. 00:00:15.070 --> 00:00:17.829 If God didn't even take into account anything 00:00:17.829 --> 00:00:20.949 to do with money, how generous are you from his 00:00:20.949 --> 00:00:23.730 perspective? Are there other ways that he measures 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:26.949 generosity that might be even way more important 00:00:26.949 --> 00:00:30.510 than money? And let me give you a hint. The answer's 00:00:30.510 --> 00:00:32.409 yes, and you don't want to miss Living on the 00:00:32.409 --> 00:00:36.869 Edge today. It's New Year's Eve, and right now 00:00:36.869 --> 00:00:39.549 Christians across America are making last -minute 00:00:39.549 --> 00:00:42.750 giving decisions, writing checks, clicking donate 00:00:42.750 --> 00:00:46.270 buttons, responding to year -end appeals. But 00:00:46.270 --> 00:00:48.770 here's a startling question. Is generous giving 00:00:48.770 --> 00:00:51.990 really about the size of your gift? Today on 00:00:51.990 --> 00:00:54.450 Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram explains how 00:00:54.450 --> 00:00:57.390 God measures generosity in a way that'll completely 00:00:57.390 --> 00:01:00.649 flip your perspective. Using a familiar Bible 00:01:00.649 --> 00:01:03.990 story, Chip shows that true generosity goes far 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:06.629 beyond your checkbook. It touches the deepest 00:01:06.629 --> 00:01:09.370 parts of who you are and what you value most. 00:01:09.590 --> 00:01:12.450 And then just after Chip's message, we'll explain 00:01:12.450 --> 00:01:14.730 how you can leverage your year -end donation 00:01:14.730 --> 00:01:17.989 at livingontheedge .org. Until midnight tonight 00:01:17.989 --> 00:01:21.230 on New Year's Eve, every dollar given to support 00:01:21.230 --> 00:01:23.730 Living on the Edge is automatically doubled in 00:01:23.730 --> 00:01:27.409 size and impact because of this match. Well, 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:29.569 more details later. But right now, the message 00:01:29.569 --> 00:01:32.689 from Chip called, How Does God Measure Generosity? 00:01:33.189 --> 00:01:37.510 So, how does God measure generosity? Well, Jesus 00:01:37.510 --> 00:01:40.549 has a way of taking what we believe and what 00:01:40.549 --> 00:01:44.030 we think and how we evaluate and literally turning 00:01:44.030 --> 00:01:47.390 it upside down. And the way he does that is to 00:01:47.390 --> 00:01:49.569 bring life and is to bring freedom, but we just 00:01:49.569 --> 00:01:52.730 get used to seeing things and evaluating things 00:01:52.730 --> 00:01:56.269 in ways that are very, very subtle. but lead 00:01:56.269 --> 00:01:59.769 us down paths that ruin relationships, that hurt 00:01:59.769 --> 00:02:03.409 people. In fact, the word miser comes from the 00:02:03.409 --> 00:02:07.810 root word for miserable. Miserly, non -generous 00:02:07.810 --> 00:02:11.430 people are miserable. And yet, there's something 00:02:11.430 --> 00:02:14.169 when we think about generosity, when we self 00:02:14.169 --> 00:02:15.870 -evaluate, we say, oh yeah, I think I'm pretty 00:02:15.870 --> 00:02:20.229 generous. This series is not about money. This 00:02:20.229 --> 00:02:23.909 series is about generosity and being smart. about 00:02:23.909 --> 00:02:26.810 living your life in a way that brings about the 00:02:26.810 --> 00:02:29.849 highest and best results for you and the greatest 00:02:29.849 --> 00:02:34.569 glory for God. So Jesus has a teachable moment 00:02:34.569 --> 00:02:38.930 with his disciples. There's a treasury over there. 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:43.009 It's outside the temple. People are coming and 00:02:43.009 --> 00:02:47.229 dropping large gifts in it. And a woman comes 00:02:47.229 --> 00:02:50.229 by and drops something very small. And Jesus 00:02:50.229 --> 00:02:53.379 stops everyone and says, wait a second. Don't 00:02:53.379 --> 00:02:56.979 miss this moment. Luke chapter 21, verses one 00:02:56.979 --> 00:02:59.300 to four, pick up the story. As he looked up, 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:01.199 Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:03.539 temple treasury. And by the way, I think it was 00:03:03.539 --> 00:03:05.979 very thankful. I think when he gives people a 00:03:05.979 --> 00:03:07.939 lot and they're giving gifts, I think it brings 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:11.020 great joy to his heart. There's not a good person 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:13.680 and a bad person in this story. There's a comparison. 00:03:14.539 --> 00:03:18.319 He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:22.000 coins. And so he's looking at the balance. Some 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:25.599 very, very large gifts. Two small copper coins. 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:30.280 Then notice what he does. I tell you the truth. 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:34.060 This poor widow has put in more than all the 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:36.919 others. And then he gives the explanation because 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:38.520 I don't know about you, but that's not good math. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.979 Right? I mean, a lot of money versus two small 00:03:42.979 --> 00:03:46.520 copper coins. They physically gave more, but 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:49.780 according to Jesus, she gave more. And then he 00:03:49.780 --> 00:03:52.979 tells us why. All these people gave their gifts 00:03:52.979 --> 00:03:56.000 out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.680 put in all she had to live on. Now the breakthrough 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:01.479 concept here, I put it right up front in the 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:06.500 notes. This is how God measures generosity. God 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:10.139 measures generosity not by the size of the gift, 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:13.500 but by the size of the sacrifice. What he was 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:17.660 saying was that it cost her more to put in two 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.740 small copper coins than it cost them. Why? Because 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:24.319 it impacted her lifestyle. She basically had 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.939 the faith to believe and had a heart to say, 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:30.199 I love you, God. By the way, when we give, that's 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:33.600 the message. This isn't a performance. When we 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:37.220 give to God, it's an act of love. And this woman 00:04:37.220 --> 00:04:40.660 said, I don't have hardly anything left, but 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:43.480 I want to give what I have. And I believe and 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:45.459 I trust that once I've given all that I have 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:48.600 to live on, that the God that I serve is kind 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.379 and generous and powerful and he's going to meet 00:04:51.379 --> 00:04:57.300 my needs. See, when Jesus sees sacrifice that 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:00.439 impacts our lifestyle, what he sees is a heart 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.339 of love. And that's why he said she was more 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:05.240 generous. I actually taught this at a conference 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:07.500 once. And it was one of those like four days 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:09.180 conferences where you get four or five messages. 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:11.060 And on the very first day of the conference, 00:05:11.139 --> 00:05:13.040 I told people, I want you to know, even the title, 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:15.839 Genius of Generosity, it's really not about money. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:18.300 And you know how you're in a line at the buffet, 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:20.100 one of those afterwards, and I hear these two 00:05:20.100 --> 00:05:22.199 people talking and they're kind of leaning one 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:23.720 over to the other and didn't know I was behind 00:05:23.720 --> 00:05:25.879 them. Well, you know, this guy says it's not 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:27.579 about money, but generosity, you know where this 00:05:27.579 --> 00:05:31.019 thing's going, right? And it was really interesting. 00:05:32.329 --> 00:05:34.350 When I got done with this message at the very 00:05:34.350 --> 00:05:38.050 end, that lady came up to me. She didn't know 00:05:38.050 --> 00:05:41.329 I ever heard it. She said, you know, when you 00:05:41.329 --> 00:05:43.670 said that this wasn't about money, I thought, 00:05:43.689 --> 00:05:46.870 yeah, right. She said, when you finish this on 00:05:46.870 --> 00:05:50.069 how God measures generosity, she goes, it's really 00:05:50.069 --> 00:05:52.370 not about money, is it? I said, ma 'am, it's 00:05:52.370 --> 00:05:55.800 really not. It's really about heart. It's about 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:59.019 life. It's about how smart people live who understand 00:05:59.019 --> 00:06:01.860 who God is and want the highest and best for 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:04.319 their life and for others and to honor him and 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.620 not waste their life. See, the whole point of 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:10.079 generosity, I mean, you know this intellectually. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:13.899 God really doesn't need your money. He owns everything. 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:18.860 But steps of generosity are a part of his plan 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:22.459 so that intimacy and relationship with him can 00:06:22.459 --> 00:06:25.730 increase. And the only way that intimacy ever 00:06:25.730 --> 00:06:28.910 happens with God is this mechanism called faith. 00:06:29.410 --> 00:06:33.370 The conduit of relationship with God is not knowledge. 00:06:33.529 --> 00:06:37.329 Knowledge puffs up. Love edifies. The conduit 00:06:37.329 --> 00:06:39.910 is faith. You can have knowledge and never put 00:06:39.910 --> 00:06:42.850 it into action. But when I believe what God says 00:06:42.850 --> 00:06:46.410 to the point that I trust and I act, I respond 00:06:46.410 --> 00:06:48.949 to light and he gives more light and the relationship 00:06:48.949 --> 00:06:52.149 and the intimacy. So one, not all, but one of 00:06:52.149 --> 00:06:55.170 the primary ways as he develops intimacy is by 00:06:55.170 --> 00:06:58.029 teaching me to be like him. To trust that God 00:06:58.029 --> 00:06:59.829 is who he said he is, that his word is really 00:06:59.829 --> 00:07:03.079 true, that when I give my... money or my time 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:05.699 or we'll see our reputation, our future, or even 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:08.660 my life, or the most precious thing that I deem 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:13.379 precious to me, when by faith I say, Lord, it's 00:07:13.379 --> 00:07:16.060 all yours and it's available whenever, however 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:19.839 you want, it cultivates this amazing thing where 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:22.800 the love of God gets deposited in you and it 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.779 overflows into relationships. I was thinking 00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:29.819 about this whole area of It was sort of the background 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:33.459 for this book several years ago. And as I was 00:07:33.459 --> 00:07:35.860 thinking about generosity, I was just sitting 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:38.959 at my desk. And Christmas is a tough time for 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:42.759 pastors on messages, okay? Because have you ever 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:46.319 heard this story before? I mean, right. I mean, 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:48.139 you're like, okay, let's go to church. Okay, 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:50.240 let's see. There's Magi. We got shepherds. We 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.939 got Mary. We got Joseph. We got the manger. I 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:57.519 mean, what am I going to say? And I was thinking 00:07:57.519 --> 00:07:59.939 about generosity and, you know, sometimes I'd 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:02.100 just put my feet up on my desk and had a good 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:04.540 cup of coffee and I just sort of mentally thought 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:07.100 about, Lord, I don't know why this question came. 00:08:07.180 --> 00:08:11.120 Why did you come to this planet the way you decided 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.740 to come? And why did you introduce us to the 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:16.800 very characters? I mean, the Christmas story 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:18.759 is very interesting where you have these probably 00:08:18.759 --> 00:08:23.449 Persian or Babylonian. studies of the stars who 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:26.310 see a star probably 18 to 24 months before the 00:08:26.310 --> 00:08:28.730 baby was actually born. They see it and they 00:08:28.730 --> 00:08:31.069 go on a journey. And then you have these low 00:08:31.069 --> 00:08:34.549 life kind of, actually sort of a disenfranchised 00:08:34.549 --> 00:08:37.370 social group of shepherds. They get in the story. 00:08:37.590 --> 00:08:40.309 And then you have a teenage girl, Mary, probably 00:08:40.309 --> 00:08:44.629 15, 16 years old, and a blue collar worker who's 00:08:44.629 --> 00:08:47.169 betrothed to her. Well, they become a big part 00:08:47.169 --> 00:08:49.250 of the story. And then pretty soon you have angels 00:08:49.250 --> 00:08:52.070 involved. And I just started thinking about, 00:08:52.169 --> 00:08:55.129 and I just laid the story out. And as I did, 00:08:55.190 --> 00:09:00.230 I thought, it's a graduate level. Each step of 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:03.710 each person introduced into the story, all the 00:09:03.710 --> 00:09:06.830 way to Jesus and God the Father, is a snapshot 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:10.129 of what the Bible teaches about the heart of 00:09:10.129 --> 00:09:13.830 God and generosity. We'll hear more from Chip 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:16.360 Ingram's message in just a moment. First, we 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:18.960 invite you to multiply your year in support of 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:21.259 Living on the Edge through an exciting match 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:24.220 that's active through December 31st. Every gift 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:28.820 is matched. Every dollar multiplied by two. Every 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:32.500 investment maximized for kingdom impact. Double 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:36.000 the impact of your gift at livingontheedge .org. 00:09:36.419 --> 00:09:39.379 From a series called The Genius of Generosity, 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:46.210 again, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram. get in 00:09:46.210 --> 00:09:48.610 those Bibles and follow passage to passage with 00:09:48.610 --> 00:09:51.450 me, but I want you to listen through the story 00:09:51.450 --> 00:09:54.950 through the lens of generosity. We pick it up 00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:57.950 where far beyond money, the magi come and that's 00:09:57.950 --> 00:10:00.490 what they give. On coming to the house, they 00:10:00.490 --> 00:10:03.090 followed the star for almost two years and they 00:10:03.090 --> 00:10:05.690 saw the child with his mother Mary and they bowed 00:10:05.690 --> 00:10:07.769 down and they worshiped him. Then they opened 00:10:07.769 --> 00:10:09.610 their treasuries and they presented him with 00:10:09.610 --> 00:10:13.700 gifts of gold and incense and of myrrh. And so 00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:15.820 the first people in the story are people that 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:18.500 they literally get the least revelation, right? 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:21.200 I mean, it's not an angel. It's just a star. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:22.779 They've studied the stars. They've done some 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:25.559 research. They follow it. It lands over Bethlehem. 00:10:25.700 --> 00:10:28.059 Here's a couple. They know the stars about the 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:29.639 king of the Jews. They inquire about the king 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:31.980 of the Jews. They see the child, and they give, 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.879 and they give money. It's great. Lots of good 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:37.019 reasons, and they're generous. They want to, 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:39.580 and it's an act of worship. Notice it didn't 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:43.240 say they gave. It says they worshiped him. Like 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:46.840 David said, I will not worship God with anything 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:51.440 that costs me nothing. There's a sacrifice. We 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:55.659 want to honor him. But here's the catch. When 00:10:55.659 --> 00:10:58.340 you get generosity just in the financial realm, 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:03.659 you can give and not be generous. You can give 00:11:03.659 --> 00:11:07.779 regularly, systematically, the first fruit, and 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.120 not be generous. I got an interesting email. 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:13.039 Someone boldly went online, because I asked you 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:16.059 to kind of tell me your story, and she wrote, 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:17.899 the last few sermons have been very convicting. 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:22.600 It says, but when you talked last week, and you 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:24.460 said, everyone thinks they're generous, I knew 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:26.460 in my heart that I was not a generous person. 00:11:26.899 --> 00:11:29.019 Oh, my husband and I, we give regularly to the 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:31.279 church. And when you went through those steps 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:34.100 about giving the first and the best and systematically 00:11:34.100 --> 00:11:37.340 and proportionally, we do all that. But I knew 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:39.139 at the personal level in my heart, there still 00:11:39.139 --> 00:11:42.279 existed the greed of a child looking at a birthday 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:44.759 cake, always wanting the biggest piece and the 00:11:44.759 --> 00:11:48.240 best one. This showed up often anytime our money 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.840 was at risk. And especially when people showed 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:56.450 up at my door and asked me for things. It's kind 00:11:56.450 --> 00:11:58.990 of like, you know, the boxes we play in. Generosity. 00:11:58.990 --> 00:12:02.970 Give first, got that done. Then you miss the 00:12:02.970 --> 00:12:06.529 point. Generosity is an issue of the heart always 00:12:06.529 --> 00:12:09.230 tied to relationships. And it's a sense of how 00:12:09.230 --> 00:12:11.990 do I love people? And so the email is pretty 00:12:11.990 --> 00:12:14.990 long. And she goes on and says basically, Lord, 00:12:15.049 --> 00:12:17.850 I believe now that you really do own everything. 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:21.210 And even my own kind of personal money. And these 00:12:21.210 --> 00:12:23.029 people that sort of irritate me when they come 00:12:23.029 --> 00:12:25.220 to the door. Want me to give them something. 00:12:25.399 --> 00:12:28.259 And I just want you to know that I want to learn 00:12:28.259 --> 00:12:30.799 to become generous. So she actually prays and 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:34.019 says, send someone to my door. And I want to 00:12:34.019 --> 00:12:37.340 give to them. And so, of course, God answers 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:39.759 those prayers pretty quickly. And she was at 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:41.299 the door right in the middle of dinner and had 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:42.799 a ministry meeting that night. Had to be there 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:44.720 by 7 o 'clock. The door knocks. And she comes 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:46.639 and there's someone from Teen Challenge. You 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.740 know, it's a Christian group that does drug rehab. 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:53.919 And she looked at him and You know, her supper's 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:56.779 there. Everybody's eating. She's got to go. All 00:12:56.779 --> 00:12:59.779 the things that make you want to be what? Non 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:03.200 -generous. And she remembered her prayer. She 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:06.019 listened to their story. And then the little 00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:08.320 girl said, I just want to thank you for listening 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:10.080 to us. You know, it's kind of like we've gone 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:12.779 door to door and it's not going real well. And 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:14.820 she said, well, actually, you're an answer to 00:13:14.820 --> 00:13:17.539 my prayer. She goes, our pastor's talking about 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:20.220 generosity and I prayed God would send someone 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:23.440 to my door today that I could give to. And she 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.279 goes, I gave to her. And she goes, wow, you're 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.100 gonna go on the top of our ministry report and 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:30.000 here's what I want you to get. The end of the 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:35.389 email says, joy welled up in my heart. I went 00:13:35.389 --> 00:13:38.029 back, I had only five minutes to eat my dinner. 00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:41.289 I ate my dinner in five minutes. Everyone had 00:13:41.289 --> 00:13:44.049 already eaten theirs. I was going to be a little 00:13:44.049 --> 00:13:46.190 late for the meeting. I was a little late for 00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:48.789 the meeting. But my countenance and my heart 00:13:48.789 --> 00:13:52.129 and my joy, who showed up to that meeting was 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:54.850 a different person. Do you see the difference 00:13:54.850 --> 00:13:57.629 between just giving your money and being generous? 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.279 Now what I want you to see in the Christmas story 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:04.559 is I think God introduces us to the Magi. They 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.500 know him the least and they get the least clear 00:14:07.500 --> 00:14:09.960 revelation. But they respond to what they know. 00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:12.679 But after they respond to that, the next group 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:15.019 is the shepherds. And you know the story of the 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:18.139 shepherds, right? The sky lights up. It's a chorus. 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:21.889 I mean, they're singing. Can you imagine? I mean, 00:14:21.909 --> 00:14:23.549 you're just sort of a regular guy. You're out 00:14:23.549 --> 00:14:25.970 on the job. Hey, Bob, it's your turn. It's the 00:14:25.970 --> 00:14:28.009 night watch. Oh, okay, you know, and it's kind 00:14:28.009 --> 00:14:29.690 of the middle of the night, and then, boom, right? 00:14:30.090 --> 00:14:32.470 The sky lights up, and they're singing, and you're 00:14:32.470 --> 00:14:35.509 going, what's this about? We pick up the story. 00:14:36.730 --> 00:14:38.769 It says, when the angels had left them and went 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:40.330 into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 00:14:40.529 --> 00:14:45.399 let's go. Leave work. Yeah, let's go. Where? 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:47.720 To Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:49.919 which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:51.860 off and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:54.080 who was lying in the manger. And when they had 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:58.919 seen him, they didn't just worship by giving 00:14:58.919 --> 00:15:01.460 a gift. It says they spread the word concerning 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:03.899 what had been told them about this child. These 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:05.799 shepherds probably didn't have anything to give. 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.620 They didn't have any money to give. I mean, these 00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:10.580 are people that are like way below our welfare. 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:13.379 I mean, they just had subsistence living. They 00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:15.200 couldn't get into good restaurants. They smelled. 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:17.559 They had a bath once every month, you know, whether 00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:22.139 they needed it or not. And God chose to reveal 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:25.980 the child to them and then notice they got a 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:28.659 story because they went around and they were 00:15:28.659 --> 00:15:30.659 the first evangelists, were the first people 00:15:30.659 --> 00:15:33.860 to say, the Messiah has come and we've seen him. 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:38.120 And so the Magi were generous with their money 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:41.419 and their hearts were open, but they got a star. 00:15:43.599 --> 00:15:46.460 The shepherds, they get an angelic choir with 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:49.600 clear direction, and they hear from the parents, 00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:52.080 this is the Messiah, and they get the privilege 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:54.759 of taking what they had and sharing it. For the 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:58.059 first time in all the earth, the awaited God 00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:01.559 -man who would come to save the world, shepherds 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:07.059 get to give their time. For most of you, not 00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:08.899 for all, but for most of you, your time's more 00:16:08.899 --> 00:16:12.289 valuable than your money. When we're talking 00:16:12.289 --> 00:16:13.870 about generosity, please don't think writing 00:16:13.870 --> 00:16:16.570 a check, as good and wonderful that is, is that 00:16:16.570 --> 00:16:19.149 my question would be, how are you doing in your 00:16:19.149 --> 00:16:22.769 growth of generosity of giving your time? I want 00:16:22.769 --> 00:16:26.169 you to know money is the training wheels. When 00:16:26.169 --> 00:16:27.870 you begin to say, God, I want to give you the 00:16:27.870 --> 00:16:29.789 best of my time. I don't know what that looks 00:16:29.789 --> 00:16:31.330 like for you. It's the early morning for me. 00:16:32.169 --> 00:16:35.240 I want to give you the best of my time. And if 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:36.659 you're like me, you're going to get a call from 00:16:36.659 --> 00:16:38.919 someone and it shows up on your phone. And I 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:40.639 have about three people in my life, when their 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:42.980 name comes up, it's like, this is not a short 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:45.620 conversation. It's never a short conversation. 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:48.840 In fact, it's a conversation where I can ask 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:51.779 one or two questions and 45 minutes later, I'm 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:53.740 not sure, if I hung up, they wouldn't know it. 00:16:55.899 --> 00:16:59.659 But you know what I've realized is, Jesus loves 00:16:59.659 --> 00:17:03.580 unlovely people. Jesus made time for people that 00:17:03.580 --> 00:17:06.079 most of us don't want to make time for. And what 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.319 I'm really saying, see what generosity is, it 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:12.079 breaks your pride. Generosity says this person 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.779 or this dysfunction with this conversation, with 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:17.619 this baggage matters to God so they matter to 00:17:17.619 --> 00:17:19.900 me because he lives inside of me and giving my 00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:22.019 money is a pretty high control. I can do it on 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:28.559 my terms. I give my time. It gets messy. The 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.140 shepherds left work. It's one thing to write 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:33.960 a check, but I mean, to leave work, to not work 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:38.099 so much, to give time to family or a friend or 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:40.720 to minister or to open your home in a small group. 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:43.539 Oh, but I'd have to leave work early and other 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:46.960 people will get ahead while I... Yeah. Takes 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:52.599 faith, doesn't it? Are you starting to see? Time 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:57.670 is way more valuable. But it goes beyond that. 00:17:57.690 --> 00:17:59.869 The Christmas story then introduces a new character 00:17:59.869 --> 00:18:04.390 and we get Joseph who's engaged. And as you read 00:18:04.390 --> 00:18:06.250 this, the engagement period in the Jewish culture 00:18:06.250 --> 00:18:08.250 is, you know, the families would be involved 00:18:08.250 --> 00:18:10.069 and the families would agree this is the right 00:18:10.069 --> 00:18:12.769 man, this is the right girl. And in this culture, 00:18:12.809 --> 00:18:15.170 it would be a semi -arranged marriage. And then 00:18:15.170 --> 00:18:16.789 there would be what's called the betrothal. And 00:18:16.789 --> 00:18:18.369 so you would get engaged and then you'd have 00:18:18.369 --> 00:18:21.309 up to sometimes a year. And the man would then 00:18:21.309 --> 00:18:24.029 get the house ready and get financially responsible 00:18:24.029 --> 00:18:26.849 and where they're going to live. And the betrothal 00:18:26.849 --> 00:18:29.119 period was very official. I mean, it wasn't like 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:30.900 today when you're engaged and say, hey, you know, 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:32.640 I'm not sure this is really right. Let's break 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:34.700 the engagement. The only way to break an engagement 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:38.599 then was to have a divorce. Now listen to Joseph's 00:18:38.599 --> 00:18:41.099 story and think of what it would be like, especially 00:18:41.099 --> 00:18:44.799 guys, think of this as your girlfriend and you 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:50.519 hear this story about her. Matthew chapter one, 00:18:50.619 --> 00:18:52.359 beginning at verse 18, it says, this is how the 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:54.539 birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother 00:18:54.539 --> 00:18:57.160 Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. But 00:18:57.160 --> 00:18:59.240 before they came together, she was found to be 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:02.019 with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:04.759 her husband, was a righteous man, he didn't want 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:06.819 to expose her to public disgrace, but he had 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:10.420 in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he 00:19:10.420 --> 00:19:13.900 considered this an angel of the Lord, that phrase 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:16.599 often, angel of the Lord is the pre -incarnate 00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.259 Christ. The angel of the Lord appeared to him 00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:21.779 in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:24.440 not be afraid to take Mary home with your wife. 00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:27.240 because what is conceived in her is from the 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:31.240 Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. You 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:33.319 will give him his name, Jesus, because he will 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:36.960 save his people from their sins. And all this 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:38.720 took place to fulfill what the Lord had said 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:41.299 to the prophet. The virgin will be with child 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:43.500 and will give birth to a son, and they will call 00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:48.660 him Emmanuel, which means God is with us. When 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:50.759 Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:53.339 Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary home 00:19:53.339 --> 00:19:56.490 to be his wife. Now just, you talk about your 00:19:56.490 --> 00:19:58.630 reputation, all right, guys, those of you that 00:19:58.630 --> 00:20:02.849 think about way, way back for some of you when 00:20:02.849 --> 00:20:05.630 you were engaged and your girlfriend comes to 00:20:05.630 --> 00:20:08.470 you and says, hey, I just want you to know I've 00:20:08.470 --> 00:20:10.009 never been with another man, but I'm pregnant. 00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:16.410 And you say, well, how can this be? And she says, 00:20:16.549 --> 00:20:23.630 well, it's God. Oh, really? Yeah, it's God. Angel 00:20:23.630 --> 00:20:29.910 told me. I mean, all of his life, the suspicion. 00:20:30.450 --> 00:20:33.589 How in the world could any man marry some woman 00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:36.730 who's pregnant with someone else's kid? His reputation, 00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:42.390 gone. If you didn't understand the end of this 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:45.369 story, you might call it a cliffhanger. Please 00:20:45.369 --> 00:20:47.529 keep listening because the familiar story of 00:20:47.529 --> 00:20:50.210 Jesus' birth to Mary and Joseph has stunning 00:20:50.210 --> 00:20:53.319 implications for your life and mine. This is 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:55.680 Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Chip is 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:57.960 presenting a practical teaching series called 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:01.240 The Genius of Generosity. We're glad that you've 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:03.599 set aside time to join us for today's teaching, 00:21:03.700 --> 00:21:06.700 even on New Year's Eve. It's a good sign that 00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:09.059 you're committed to understanding the Bible and 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:12.299 applying its wisdom to your daily life. In fact, 00:21:12.339 --> 00:21:14.660 after 30 years of sharing Living on the Edge, 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:17.319 we've discovered that our listeners are learners. 00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:20.519 When today's culture seems divided, there's a 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:22.980 growing hunger for knowing the truth about God 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:26.089 and His Word. Chip? Thanks so much, Dave. You 00:21:26.089 --> 00:21:28.549 know, I'm so excited because we're seeing something 00:21:28.549 --> 00:21:31.710 happen all across the country. More and more 00:21:31.710 --> 00:21:34.470 Christians are hungry for something deeper. They're 00:21:34.470 --> 00:21:36.670 tired of skimming the surface, and they want 00:21:36.670 --> 00:21:39.230 to really understand God's Word. They've tasted 00:21:39.230 --> 00:21:41.970 enough faith to know there's something more substantial 00:21:41.970 --> 00:21:44.849 and available, and they're really ready to go 00:21:44.849 --> 00:21:47.089 deeper. And Living on the Edge comes alongside 00:21:47.089 --> 00:21:49.490 believers like this in those critical moments 00:21:49.490 --> 00:21:51.789 when they're ready to, I mean, move from like 00:21:51.789 --> 00:21:54.779 being that casual Christian to really get serious 00:21:54.779 --> 00:21:57.220 with the Lord. And I just have to tell you, it 00:21:57.220 --> 00:22:01.079 is so exciting. I get emails and letters, I mean, 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:04.240 thousands of people who say, you know, I kind 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.519 of heard a lot about God and I caught your program. 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:09.220 I was driving across the country or someone sent 00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:13.480 me a podcast and I heard the message about surrender. 00:22:14.299 --> 00:22:16.420 And you know what? I've been a Christian for 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:19.430 20 years. And I realized what God really wanted 00:22:19.430 --> 00:22:22.329 was me. And they talk about this moment of saying 00:22:22.329 --> 00:22:26.690 to God, I'm all in. And then they begin to experience 00:22:26.690 --> 00:22:30.670 power and a life change. And they just say, thank 00:22:30.670 --> 00:22:33.930 you so much. And I just have to tell you, I think 00:22:33.930 --> 00:22:36.430 it's a message that, I mean, when Jesus said, 00:22:36.490 --> 00:22:39.970 follow me, the indication was we would walk with 00:22:39.970 --> 00:22:43.309 him and do what he does and follow him. And where 00:22:43.309 --> 00:22:46.230 did he go? To the cross. And you know something? 00:22:46.349 --> 00:22:48.950 Until we die, you don't experience resurrection. 00:22:49.329 --> 00:22:51.589 You don't become that person that has answers 00:22:51.589 --> 00:22:54.750 to prayers and God really moves. And what I want 00:22:54.750 --> 00:22:57.779 you to know is that living on the edge. is about 00:22:57.779 --> 00:23:00.880 helping people come to the point and learn that 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.559 surrender is the channel through which God's 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:07.339 biggest blessings flow, that we take up our cross, 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:10.920 we follow him, and it's worth it. And thousands 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:13.700 upon ten thousands of lives over the last 30 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:16.680 years have experienced that message, met their 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:19.599 Lord, seen their lives transformed. And that 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:22.539 need is greater today than ever before. When 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:25.960 you give to this match, you're propelling the 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:29.059 message of discipleship to God's people at a 00:23:29.059 --> 00:23:31.559 time when they desperately need it, especially 00:23:31.559 --> 00:23:34.400 all those young people coming to Christ. So as 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:37.180 you pray and think about this match, would you 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:40.259 join? Would you get on board? When you give, 00:23:40.259 --> 00:23:43.319 your gift is doubled. But far more important, 00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:46.720 your impact is doubled. Let's make a difference 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:50.190 together. Even on New Year's Eve, we have people 00:23:50.190 --> 00:23:52.970 standing by to take your call. As you're ready 00:23:52.970 --> 00:23:55.589 to respond to Chip, just call this number, 888 00:23:55.589 --> 00:24:00.789 -333 -6003. If you prefer to give online, just 00:24:00.789 --> 00:24:05.259 go to livingontheedge .org. And many in our audience 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:07.220 prefer to send a check in the mail. Now, you 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:09.559 can do that by addressing your envelope to Living 00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:14.099 on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, Georgia, 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:21.059 30024. Our address again is P .O. Box 3007, Atlanta, 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:25.460 Georgia, 30024. Here's our phone number again, 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:31.440 888 -333 -6003, or give online at livingontheedge 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:35.200 .org. How does God really measure generosity? 00:24:35.619 --> 00:24:38.460 I'm Dave Drewy, inviting you to hear Chip's answer 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:41.819 tomorrow, New Year's Day, on Living on the Edge.