Sermon Reources available here...

                      

Sermon Reources available here...

                      

Generosity:  Fueling the Flame of Christ’s Mission

What comes to mind when you think of generosity?

If we had time, it would be interesting to hear what you picture when you think of generosity?  What image comes to mind?

Maybe it is an image of people giving their time to serve like in the video we showed earlier.  People using their time and talents - their strengths to serve.

Maybe picture of Scrooge who has a change of heart and becomes a giving person. Maybe you picture  a red kettle and a bell ringing - Salvation Army

I think of a story that I sometimes read to my kids called One Winter’s Day.  A story about a hedge hog whose house is destroyed by the wind one winter’s day.  All he has are his mittens, scarf, and hat.  As he seeks shelter from the winter, he comes across other animals in need he gives those away.  He gives his hat to a family of mice, his mittens to otter, his scarf to deer.  Next day he finds that those he blessed also blessed him.  They build him a new house.

*pictures of hedge hog house, mice, badger, deer, end with house together again

Note:  Firehouse – can use story of Jesus and the woman who gave everything (Mark 12).

Reality is when you think about generosity, most people probably picture money.  

So let’s be real.  When you talk about money, walls that come up.  There are people who think that the church always talks about money.  They think that is all preachers do is talk about money.  For some people there is even this distrust of churches when it comes to money.  And then there are other people who have walls that come up because of their financial situation.  There are debt issues.  Maybe they are living pay check to pay check.  There are bills to pay.  The economy hasn’t been great.  Jobs are hard to find. 

For the record we don’t talk much about money here.  We are sensitive to these issues, and as a result we probably don’t talk about it enough.  The truth is that the Bible talks more about money and possessions than prayer.  We talked about how important prayer is two weeks ago.

There are some 500 references to prayer in the Bible, and there are 2,300 references to money and possessions. So, for every sermon on the subject of prayer, there would be a month’s worth of sermons on money and possessions.  

You can’t avoid the fact that God addresses money and possessions in relationship to how we live, who is first in our lives, our priorities, how we are to be as people of God.  

You can’t avoid it.  You can’t remove it from the Bible.  You have to deal with it.  

From the Old Testament through the New Testament, over and over you find that that generosity is a way of being and living for those who love and serve God.  

Early on God even set up a system that helped to encourage people to live generous lives.  It was a way of living that would have eliminated permanent poverty and debt.  Everyone would have been cared for. 

They were to set leave parts of their crops for the poor to have – it was called gleaning.  

You can read about part of those instructions in Deuteronomy 14. 

Deut. 14:22-23

 22 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. 23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored… This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the LORD your God.  Deut. 14:22-23

Set aside your tithe, 10% of whatever it is you earn or make, and give it to God, put Him first.

In Deut. 14:29, it talks about taking a portion of the tithe and 

29 Give it to the Levites, who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all your work.  Deut. 14:29

You see this idea of giving to help those serving at the place of worship, giving to foreigners and orphans and widows.  

Deut. 15:7-8

 7 “But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need.  Deut. 15:7-8

Giving freely

Deut. 15:10

10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. Deut. 15:10

Give generously.  

Do you hear or see a pattern though?  There is the pattern of giving and blessing.  Give generously and God blesses.  When it comes to generosity, 

God blesses generous people.  

Over and over you find this in Scripture.  

There are several versus on your outline.  It says, It is more blessed to give than to receive.  Give and it will be given to you.  A generous person will be blessed.  He who is kind to the poor will be rewarded.  

Now I want to be very clear here.  We do not teach a message nor do we believe in a message here that says give money and you will become healthy and rich.  

Everyone faces struggles and difficult moments in life.  God doesn’t go around causing bad things to happen to us or those we care about.  Some people believe that, and it is a false view of God.  We live in a world where we have to deal with sin and the effects of sin.  God sees the big picture and has our best interest in mind even when it doesn’t feel like it.  

As a general rule, you find that God blesses generous people.  He takes care of them.  When you look around, you find that people who are generous are happier about life.  People who live generously for God, grow spiritually.  People who are generous experience material blessing.   That doesn’t mean a person never experiences financial difficulty.  

Here is the deal.  When you say God blesses generous people, it is at this point that people react in a couple of ways.

Some ask:  If God blesses generous people, then how can I get in on this?  How can I get more from God?  - There is a problem with that kind of thinking.  The motive sounds a little like greed.  We don’t give to get.  So if you are asking that question, don’t miss the point.

There are others who might ask:  What does it mean to be generous?  Does God give guidelines or instructions for what it means to be generous person?

God provides clear guidelines for becoming a generous person.  

When it comes to being generous, sometimes we think God grades on a curve.   We want to compare ourselves to others.   I gave $5.  Someone else only gave $1.00.  I’m more generous. We do that spiritually too.  We think I live better than another person.  I am more spiritual.  That is incorrect thinking.  God doesn’t grade on a curve. 

What are you doing to become the person God has created you to be?  Throughout Scripture you find pictures of what it means to be generous.  Ask yourself – How generous am I?  

When you look at generosity in Scripture, you find that…

Genuine generosity gives the first and best to God.   (Proverbs 3:9-10)

Old Testament sacrifices – God commanded Israelites to give their best to God - the first of their crops, their fruit, their herds of animals and these were to be perfect without defect.

Illustration:   Do you know what most people do when they give stuff away?  They give what they don’t want.  It is like going to Good Will to get a tax write off.  People give stuff that they never want.  That is not giving your best – The first sign of generosity is we give our first and best to God.

That was the idea behind the tithe.  

Tithe – 10%.  Tithing took place before the instructions in Deut.  You find Abraham gave a tenth.  Jacob gave God a tenth.  It was just understood.  It was a way of living.  It was a way of honoring and worshipping God.  

What you find is that when you begin to look at God’s instructions and the lifestyle of Israelites in the Old Testament and Christ followers in the New Testament is that they gave more than 10%.

The average Israelite gave about 23-25 percent of their income to God.  God was their king.  They gave tithe, but they also gave free will offerings, thanksgiving offerings, and peace offerings, to those who had need, to finance God’s kingdom.  

Being generous was a way of living and loving God.  That is why you find prophets calling people of Israel at different points to give more than just tithing regularly, because they were just going through motions as a ritual of giving just tithe.  Their heart wasn’t right.  They weren’t being generous.  

Principle is carried through the NT.  The pattern of giving.  Tithing was just the place to start.  It was just part of what it meant to be generous.

It is interesting that statistically, average Christian only gives 2.5% of their income to God.  

Genuine generosity is regular and systematic.  (1 Corinthians 16:2)

*Use your outline…

2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. (1 Corinthians 16:2)

Paul is teaching the people how to give.  He says that you should set aside a portion to give the first of each week.  Do this on a regular basis.  

He is talking about giving in the rhythm that you get.  Give when you get.  Today, maybe that means you get money every other week or you are paid on commission.  Give your first and best to God when you get paid.  It is regular.   It is a pattern of giving your first and best.

He doesn’t say wait until I get there to collect, and then give.  Be intentional.  Regularly set aside and give God your best.  

But what we want to do is to give if we have or we only give if we are present at church.  If we are gone because of snow or on take time off and leave town, it is as if we are only generous if we are here.  It as if we think, “I’m not here, so I don’t give anything.”  

Generosity involves developing a habit of giving.  If you leave town, do you say, “I’m not going to pay the light bill.”  You pay it.   You pay it.  It is a way of life.

Generosity involves a habit of giving.  

Genuine generosity is proportional to our income.  (1 Corinthians 16:2)

2 On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. (1 Corinthians 16:2)

You see this idea of setting aside money in relation to what you earn.  

That people who make more should give more than people who make less.

Generous people give according to how God has blessed them.  Think in terms of total income and percentages.

It is not a comparison game where I gave $20.00 and that person only gave $5.00 so I am more generous.

I read an article this past week which looked at the income of Americans to see who were the most generous givers in terms of percentage that was given of their income.

America’s poor donate more of their income than higher income Americans.  America’s poor are more charitable.  Generosity from America’s poor declines less in hard times than higher income Americans.

Again the question you are asking yourself today:  How are you when it comes to generosity?  How are you at being the person God wants you to be when it comes to generosity?

Picture:  We are preparing for another Summer Serve trip this summer to partner with an urban mission organization where we will be serving with kids camp, construction, community renovations...  This is a trip not just for teens, but for families and adults.  There are details in your worship folder.  I still remember serving in Philadelphia this past summer at Summer Serve and worshiping at this urban Hatian church.  They prepared lunch of meat and rice and insisted that we join them.  They served us.  Later I talked to the leader of the organization that we were working with and he was amazed because of what it would have cost the people at that church financially to serve us that meal.  He said they don’t have much.  They would have had to pull together all their resources to do that.  

Genuine generosity is regular, proportional, and…Genuine generosity is sacrificial. (2 Corinthians 8:1-4)

 Genuine generosity is intentional, voluntary, and part of worship.  (2 Corinthians 9:5-7)

What does it look like for you to be generous?  What does it look like for you to intentionally give regularly, proportionally, sacrificially, and voluntarily out of your love for God and who He has created you to be?

What we tend to want to do is to give if we feel like it.  If I waited until I felt like I should read the Bible or pray or to spend time with my kids after a long day at work, then there are plenty of times when it probably wouldn’t happen, and I would miss out on growing closer to God.  I would miss out on some great moments with my kids. 

When we are generous with our time, talents, and money, God is able to do great things through us.  

God doesn’t need your money.  God doesn’t teach about money and possessions in Scripture to raise money.  God teaches about money and possessions, about generosity, to grow us spiritually.  

God wants to bless us.  But He doesn’t bless you so that you can stop having hamburgers and start eating steak or so that you can get a bigger house.

God blesses not to raise one’s standard of living, but to raise one’s standard of giving.  

Generosity is about an attitude and a lifestyle.  Generosity is what enables God to guard your heart from greed and materialism.  Either money and stuff will get you or you will learn to give it away and remember it is Gods, and use it to bless others.  

God wants to use our generosity with our time, our talents, and our finances to transform our community and expand His Kingdom.   That is what fuel’s the flame of Christ’s mission.  

The key to becoming generous and experiencing God’s blessing is faith.

 It is taking a step of faith to be generous.  What does it look like for you to take steps in your life to become generous?   Just think about what God could do through us if together we took steps of faith to be generous.  Think about what we do now.  Then think about what we could do.