The Habit of Intentional Generosity

January 15th 2023

Series: Habits of A Healthy Christian

Sermon Title: The Habit of Intentional Generosity

Topic: A message on what giving is in the Bible, not based on culture.

Key Passages: Various

Sermon Blurb: A lot of people seem to think churches only want you for your money. In this message, we dive into what the Bible says about the money we have and how God says we should use it.

Sermon:

Family Moment

We’re in week 4 of a 6-part series we’ve called Habits of a Healthy Christian.

Because it is our goal for everyone at Family Church to be healthy followers of Jesus.

That’s why we kick off every at Family Church, talking about the things HEALTHY followers of Jesus do.

PAUSE

To try and make it easier to remember, we created an Acronym to go along with the series…

So, here is our Acronym for HABITS.

On the screen AND in notes

H – Holy Fasting A – Abundant Prayer

B – Bible Learning I – Intentional Generosity T – Transformative Community

S – Sacrificial Serving

Hopefully, this will help us to remember more easily what we’re learning in this series.

PAUSE

So, we called this series HABITS...

not disciplines,

not routines,

not practices.

Write this down

HABITS are actions that are ingrained, and that have become natural because of continued repetition. HABITS are the things we do without thinking but accomplish with skill and precision.

The HABITS we are talking about in this series are things that Christians grow in.

As we commit to growing in these habits... then, over time, they will happen more naturally.

They will become a rhythm of our life.

LONG PAUSE

Today, we’re going to talk about the Habit of Intentional Generosity

We’re going to talk about Giving!

That’s right, we’re talking about MONEY!

EVERYONE’S FAVORITE thing to hear about in church....

Anyone want to AMEN that!

And let me just say this right out the gate... because I am sure if you are new today you are thinking....

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

WE show up on the week they are going to gilt trip us for money!

Hear me...before you look for the door....

We are NOT going to guilt trip you!

Today we will NOT make you feel pressured to give!

What we WILL do today is simple.

We are going to walk through the Bible and learn what God says about our money...

We will see how God says we should use the resources God gave us.

I promise you, that I am NOT trying to manipulate you...

I am just going to try to motivate you to live a generous life!

The life God intended, and calls, the best or blessed, life!

PAUSE

I’d like us to grab our Bibles and open your Bibles up to Luke 12…and I really hope you brought your Bibles to church!

As you are getting to Luke 12 let me break the ice with a joke to bring us all back in today…..

After worship one Sunday a little boy told the pastor, “When I grow up, I’m going to give you some money.”

“Well, thank you,” the pastor replied, “but why?”

The boy said, “Because my daddy says you’re one of the poorest preachers we’ve ever had.”

PAUSE

Alright, let’s jump in...

And let me start with this...something I want to make sure everyone knows right out the gate...

Giving does NOT get you into heaven….

Giving to this church will NOT get you into heaven….

Giving to charity will NOT get you into heaven...

Getting into heaven comes by the grace of God only.

Giving, or being generous, is a byproduct of God’s grace in your life...but it is NOT how you obtain God’s grace.

PAUSE

And before we get any deeper into the message today. If you are new here. I am SO GLAD you are here! Understand this; we preach on giving like once or twice a year. We are not preaching on money because our church is in need of money. God abundantly provides for all our needs.

We are preaching about money because, in our modern culture, money drives almost everything we do OR do not do.

PAUSE

Let me give a couple examples of this.

If you’re married or going to get married one day... did you know that the number 1 reason for stress/arguments in a marriage is money.

If you are parenting kids under the age of 18, or going to raise children one day... you need to know that the average child will cost you between $250K & $500K.

If you are alive today, if you have a pulse (that’s all of you)… you will face financial challenges and have to make financial decisions.

It is just a reality of life that no one can avoid.

So, it is super important that we look to God, look to our Bibles, for God’s wisdom regarding resources.

PAUSE

So, let’s learn about money and resources and what it means to be intentionally generous.

And let’s begin with something Jesus said….

Luke 12:34, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Here is what that means....

Where your money is.

Where you put your money.

How you invest your money.

How you spend your money.

How you give your money.

How you treat and handle your money...

That is a clear indicator of where your heart is.

Of what you cherish and value most.

The old saying goes, “if you want to know what a person loves, ask to see their checkbook”

Or in our modern day, ask to look at their online banking statement.

PAUSE

Let me help you look at your money from a global perspective...like God does....

Did you know if you have $20,000 in your accounts in Kenya that would put you in the top 1% of all people!

If your household income is over $80,000 you would be in the top 1% of India!

Or look at it this way....

Anyone want to guess what the AVERAGE GLOBAL Annual Household income is????

Throw out some guesses.....

According to Gallup here it is on the screens...

The median annual household income worldwide is $9,733, and the median per-capita household income is $2,920, according to new Gallup metrics.

Which means, most of us in this room are RICH by global standards!

You are rich!

I am rich!

We are BLESSED!

So, that begs the question, what should we do with our richness?

Why did God choose to make me rich?

Why am I so blessed?

Continuing in Jesus’ parable in Luke 12, look at what Jesus says...

Luke 12:48, Jesus says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked”

So, the question, “why has God made me rich”, or “why has God entrusted me with so much”?

The answer is, He has blessed you to be a blessing.

Write this down

I am rich so I can be intentionally generous.

Repeat

You are rich so you can be intentionally generous.

If God has entrusted you with riches, then He has equipped you to be a blessing to others!

So many people at Family Church do such an amazing job at this!

And that is awesome!

We are the most generous church I have ever seen in so many ways!

PAUSE

So, let’s look at how we should respond to God’s blessings in our life.

What does it look like to be an intentionally generous Christian?

And how do I know if I am an intentionally generous Christian?

3 points I want you to consider... the first, write this down

1. Intentionally generous Christians will be grateful givers.

repeat

In a world where we are always looking out for me, myself, and I...

Where selfishness comes naturally and making sure “I get mine” is always a priority...

It’s important to grasp this point.

Blessed people don’t seek to take or simply gain, but to give.

They understand that they have been blessed and are grateful.

AND they seek to bless others because they understand it will produce gratefulness in others!

This is exactly what we see Paul write in 2nd Corinthians 9:11

Paul said,

2nd Corinthians 9:11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. And through us, it will result in thanksgiving to God.

God says He made some people, like us, RICH…. So that we can be generous on EVERY occasion…..

And our generosity comes from our gratitude AND will lead others to thank God as well!!!

Do you see it right there church????

PAUSE

Pause and think about what God just said….

Imagine if you took just a little bit of your wealth/resources and you were generous with it.

Imagine if you looked at your wealth not as your nest egg or safety net...but as your TOOL to LEAD people in thanking God!

Let me show you another verse about this.....

Listen to what Paul told Timothy about rich people.

Which again if your household makes over 10K, which is the majority of you here today, then you are rich from a GLOBAL perspective.

(Mom keep the verse together)

1st Timothy 6:18.

"Command those who are rich."

And who is that?

Let's just make sure we understand.

Who is he talking to? People like…who? Us?

"Command those who are rich" to do what??

"To do good and to be" what?

"To be rich in good deeds."

Then he goes on to say "And to be" what?

"And willing to share."

1st Timothy 6:18 "Command those who are rich. To do good and to be rich in good deeds. And willing to share."

He didn't say:

Suggest to those rich people….

Encourage them….

Build them up and hope they will be generous…

He said, "Command them to be generous and willing to share."

He says our Biblical Giving Attitude should be:

Biblical Giving Attitude: I have more so I can’t wait to give more.

Maybe you’ve heard it said this way, “I am blessed to be a blessing”.

But here’s the point... God has blessed us.

We are rich. I am rich!

You may not feel rich, but in what we have we are to honor God with it by being grateful givers.

PAUSE

The second point is this... write this down

2. Intentionally generous Christians are cheerful givers.

Repeat

How many of you can’t WAIT to give money?

You are pumped up and just elated by the idea of giving money away?

Probably not many.

If you’ve ever raised children, you know that giving doesn’t come naturally.

Taking comes naturally.

How long does it take for your toddler to learn the word, “mine”? Not very long.

So, if giving or generosity doesn’t come naturally, BUT it is what God wants, then how do I get there?

How can I become a giver?

And more, how do I become a cheerful giver?

PAUSE

I’m just going to go out on a limb here... For some of you, this point alone could change your life.

Some of you here today are so pinned up with stress and anxiety related to money, that your life is devoid of happiness.

Empty of cheer!

You don’t have any JOY in life!

Even this message, talking about finances OR giving money... it immediately causes stress and anxiety... or regret and reminders of major debt and poor financial choices.

Maybe your mind drifts to something that happened to you.

So, you might be wondering, how can I be a CHEERFUL GIVER?

How can I live generously when all these bad things have happened to me and I can barely keep my head above water?

PAUSE

And if that’s you, I'm not trying to oversimplify things, nor am I trying to overlook the realities of your life and be insensitive to your specific situation.

Because sometimes, we need more than a Bible verse to get things back in order.

BUT... the Bible IS our source of truth, hope, wisdom, and encouragement...

And if we live according to God's principles, He can redeem anything...even finances, even our joy!

Biblical Giving Truth: Giving and generosity reduces stress and produces joy!

Repeat

I know...it sounds counter-intuitive.

It goes against the way culture teaches us to build up and horde...but it is a biblical truth and a Kingdom of God value!

Giving and generosity can reduce stress and anxiety in our lives and produce joy and cheer!

PAUSE

Look with me in 2nd Corinthians 9:7. Paul said,

2nd Corinthians 9:7 That each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.

It says, “God loves a cheerful giver”.

This isn’t saying God does NOT love you UNLESS you give or are always smiling when you give...

What it’s saying, is that God LOVES it when cheerful givers give.

God loves when His children live generous because it reflects the generous God Whom we claim to love!

You might consider reversing the phrase.

Rather than, “God loves a cheerful giver”, say, “A cheerful giver loves God!”

You see, God doesn’t love you any more or less based on your giving.

That isn’t the point.

God loves you, period.

But a Christian who gives cheerfully because of God’s love and generosity toward them...they are demonstrating great love for God.

In other words, it isn’t a salvation issue but a love issue.

It’s a maturity issue.

It’s a matter of trusting God and knowing He will abundantly provide for you even if you sacrificially provide for someone else!

PAUSE

In Acts 20:35, Paul reminds us of Jesus’ words,

Acts 20:35,“It is better to give than to receive.”

Again, Paul is NOT saying that it is bad to receive, or you should never expect to receive.

He is simply saying it is better to give... and when we give freely and cheerfully, it demonstrates our love for God AND God promises that it will produce joy in us.

PAUSE

So, the question, “how can I be a more cheerful giver”... might better replaced with, “how can giving make me more cheerful?”

Giving and living generously will produce joy and cheer.

PAUSE

The third point is this...

Write this down...

3. Intentionally generous Christians will be covenant-based givers.

A covenant is a contract made between two parties.

It's an agreement or promise.

God made covenants all throughout the Bible... where He sets an agreement with people that IF they do their part THEN HE will do His part.

...and God always fulfills His end of the agreement.

PAUSE

One covenant God made has to do with money.

It’s what we refer to as the TITHE.

The word, TITHE, literally means one-tenth.

And in the Bible, it has to do with the FIRST and BEST of your resources... as Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 3.

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

PAUSE

The Tithing covenant goes way back...back to Abraham in the Bible... in Genesis 14

Then, Moses further elaborated on the tithe in Leviticus 27.

In 2 Chronicles 31, we see the tithe referred to as “first fruits”

The prophet Amos talked about tithing in Amos 4.

And perhaps the most notable passage on tithing comes from the prophet Malachi.

Malachi 3:8-9, “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.”

So, apparently God takes this covenant quite serious!

But look at the promise in the next two verses...

Malachi 3:10-11, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.”

WOW!

What an awesome promise God gives us... that IF we do our part to tithe then He WILL do His part to ABUNDANTLY provide.

Write this down

Biblical Giving Promise: You can’t outgive God!

Repeat

Intentionally Generous Christians understand the tithe-covenant, this promise that God made... that if we are faithful to tithe, we can have confidence that God will abundantly provide everything we need!

PAUSE

So, where are you at?

For my family….it starts here, with what the Bible calls the tithe.

For those of you that are not Christians, this is going to sound crazy to you; but understand this does not apply to you.

This is for followers of Jesus.

In fact, you may be inclined to thank God that you're not a Christian right now.

PAUSE

For our family, our giving strategy starts with tithing 10% of what God blesses us with right back to God.

We give 10% back to God because He gave it all to me in the first place!

Now, you may say, "Why in the world would you do that?"

For me, that is an easy answer, because the bible says to do it.

To which some Christians might say, "Well that's an Old Testament principle, not a New Testament principle."

That isn’t really true, let me show you…. Jesus clearly affirms the tithe in the New Testament.

Mathew 23:23, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Jesus just said they should tithe…but it doesn’t stop there!

He also said they need to live out the virtues of a follower of God as well!

See this goes back to what I say all the time….words and actions need to come into alignment!!! BALANCE!!!!!

I believe that as we all get deeper into our Bibles, we will see in the New Testament that the tithe is just the starting point of giving.

Therefore, my family gives God the first 10% and we do it with JOY!

(mom keep verse together)

In fact, Deuteronomy 14:23, from the Today's Living Bible, it translates the verse this way: "The purpose of tithing is" what? Say it aloud.

"Is to teach you to always put God first in your lives."

Deuteronomy 14:23, "The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives."

When I tithe it teaches me to place God first.

LONG PAUSE

Here’s the deal with giving, generosity and tithing and all...and we will close with this.

You don't have to give big amounts to give extravagantly.

Because, it's not about the amount; it's about the heart.

I 100% mean this….I HOPE NOT ONE PERSON FEELS GUILTED INTO GIVING ONE PENNY TODAY! I promise you...This sermon is NOT being preached because we need money.

This is being preached because Jesus said where your money is there your heart is also.

And we want all your hearts to be SOLD OUT for Jesus!!!!

PAUSE

Let me give you your life application today…..

Life Application: Make a giving plan for 2023. Decide what you will give back to God in 2023 and start living into that plan.

Let’s Pray…..