Living Generously

Introduction

Living generously means giving lavishly in the manner God has given to you.

Living generously requires gratitude

Living generously requires forgiveness

Living generously requires resources

Living generously means giving lavishly in the manner God has given to you.

A. Reaping and Sowing

Proverbs 11:24–25 (NASB95)

24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. 25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.

2 Corinthians 9:6–9 (NASB95)

6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.”

The more generous you are, the more generous God is with you.

I like the way R. G. LeTourneau said it:

“I shovel out, and God shovels it back … but God has a bigger shovel.”

In other words, you can’t out give God.

Isn’t this the prosperity Gospel?

No, we just serve a prosperous God. It’s biblical, spelled out in black and white. The way God prospers those who give isn’t always financial and material. Sometimes it involves resources, sometimes it looks like:

God giving you the strength to overcome that sin or habit you just can’t seem to break.

As you freely give, God grants you an extra measure of His Spirit so that He can better use you to accomplish His purpose here on earth.

God allowing your ministry to thrive.

When people think of success in ministry, they are often drawn to numbers. For example, success in church is only when we can see tangible growth in our attendance. If that is what defines success, most churches are failing miserably, us included. But what if through a church, or people, or a person’s giving, God simply uses it to till the ground so that souls may become fertile ground and the life-saving truths of the Gospel may take root? In other words, you may never see evidence of a thriving ministry outside of acting upon the opportunities God is creating for you.

God supplying the needs for new opportunities

Sometimes we see God prosper His people by imparting to them new resources, both material and spiritual, to meet the needs He shows them.

God answering the prayers and needs of His children.

Sometimes God prospers His people by answering their prayers. Prayers for healing, prayers for wisdom and discernment, prayers for salvation of others, prayers for giftings, etc.

And even though God will always shovel back to us, that’s not why we give.

1 John 4:19 NASB95

19 We love, because He first loved us.

We give because of the manner which God has given to us.

What manner?

B. To understand our calling to live generously, we have to understand the incredible generosity of our Savior.

Have you ever really thought about what the cross, or the grave, or victory over sin and death required?

We sing songs about it and we cry out, “God you are so good!” and He is! But sometimes we forget what it means when we say Jesus paid it all.

There was nothing He held back! He gave His life in the most brutal way imaginable. It wasn’t this picturesque idea we get of a clean cross with a little bit of blood.

Isaiah 52:14 NASB95

14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.

And how did Jesus give?

Freely

John 10:18 (NASB95)

18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Joyfully

Hebrews 12:2 (NASB95)

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

C. No greater gift has been given, and it was given freely and joyfully!

Generosity always stems from understanding what Jesus Christ has done for you.

When we think of generosity we often think of giving something. But generosity is more than an action. It’s a way of life. Meaning generosity isn’t about what you give, it’s about what you are holding back.

Living this way requires three things and the first is this:

I. Living generously requires gratitude

How can you be generous if you can’t first be thankful for what you have?

A. What is the opposite of gratitude?

Entitlement? Resentment? Disappointment? Anger? Envy?

Two examples:

Luke 17:15–19 NASB95

15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

Matthew 20:11–15 NASB95

11 “When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 ‘Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. 15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’

B. We want to think of ourselves as the man who came back with gratitude. Too often though, we grumble and complain that we haven’t received “our dues.”

How are you doing with your gratitude toward others?

When was the last time you showed gratitude to your parents?

When was the last time you showed gratitude to your teachers?

When was the last time you showed gratitude to your spouse?

When was the last time you showed gratitude to your boss or coworkers or staff?

When was the last time you showed gratitude to your church?

We want to receive, but we often we don’t show gratitude because were holding other people to a standard that we ourselves fail miserably at.

You can’t receive what you are unwilling to give.

If God is going to love me for who I am, who am I to withhold gratitude from those around me?

Most of you can think of ways you express gratitude. Here is the ultimate question:

Where are you withholding gratitude?

C. We are called to live generously through our gratitude because we don’t deserve Christ’s favor that He lavishes on us.

Brings us to our second point, that:

II. Living generously requires forgiveness

A. The Gospel message can be summed up in one verse:

Romans 5:8 NASB95

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We have the Gospel backwards in our culture. We tend to think of ourselves as mostly good, part of us is bad, and Christ died for that bad part of us.

Scripture testifies we were dead though! Totally contaminated with a virus called sin. And yet God in His mercy offered up a way to forgive our sins and extend to us the gift of salvation.

Romans 5:8 does not say once we made ourselves better, Christ died for us.

No, it says even in our sin Christ died for us. Forgiveness, and therefore salvation, was completely unmerited. It is a freely given gift of God (Rom. 6:23, Eph. 2:8).

B. If we recognize how generously we have been forgiven, we will generously forgive those around us in return.

Is there anyone in your life you haven’t forgiven?

As Christians, we like to think of ourselves as forgiving, but often we find ourselves holding on to past mistakes.

I was listening to a pastor this week who said two Christian code words for unforgiveness are hurt and bothered.

Do you have areas in your life where your hurt or bothered?

Maybe you attended another church who somehow wronged you and you walked away with “church hurt.”

Maybe your spouse said or did something that “bothered” you.

Maybe your parents “hurt” you in the way they raised you.

Maybe your boss chose not to promote you or give you that raise and that “bothered” you.

God’s desire is that we forgive, but if we are always “hurt” and “bothered,” have we really forgiven them?

One of the most powerful stories of forgiveness I know comes Elisabeth Elliot, wife of Jim Elliot. Jim Elliot was one of 5 missionaries who traveled down to Ecuador to proclaim the Gospel to the Waodani tribe. After working hard to establish contact and relationship with members of the tribe, Jim and his four friends were slaughtered by their hands.

2 years later, Elisabeth Elliot, her daughter Valerie, and Rachel Saint (fellow missionary Nate Saint’s sister), learned the Huao language and traveled to live among the Waodani people. The same people who murdered their husband, father, brother, and friends.

Talk about generously lavishing forgiveness … Can you imagine what it would take not only to forgive someone for murdering your husband, but to act on that forgiveness by living with them and serving them?

C. An impossible act

Even more than gratitude, forgiveness is an impossible act. Impossible without first understanding how generously Christ has forgiven us.

Only if we can live generously through our gratitude and our forgiveness can we live generously in the third area:

III. Living generously requires resources

Of course the pastor has to mention money!

A. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21)

If you can’t give generously in matters of the heart (i.e., gratitude and forgiveness) you will never give generously in material matters.

Malachi 3:6–10 NASB95

6 “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

We see the faithful heart of God again crying out to His people, return to Me!

How are they to return?

With their money. Bring the whole tithe. Return with everything!

If you look at studies of Christians in our country, you will find that, on average, American Christians give anywhere between 1-2% of their income. Which means if we as a church are average, our offerings would be 5-10x greater week after week.

Did you know if everyone in our church brought a tithe every week we would never have to worry about funding for any project ever again? Ever. Not only that, but we would have such an overabundance of resources that we would be overwhelmed in seeking how to faithful steward and manage it.

Where do you get that?

B. God says, “I dare you to test me in this!”

Try to out give Me! I have the bigger shovel, I promise! Faithfully give to Me and I promise I will shower you with resources, both material and physical, to bring glory and honor to My name, so much so that you won’t be able to contain it all.

That’s biblical. So why don’t we give?

Two excuses:

It’s Old Testament!

That’s the Law. That’s Old Covenant. We don’t have to give 10% because we are under grace!

I agree. Just point me to one place in the New Testament where we are not commanded to give more than in the Old.

I earned it!

I’m smart. I’m gifted. I work hard.

Everything that you have if you trace it back is because of Jesus, it’s not because of you.

One reason:

You don’t give because you are not faithful.

Mark 12:41–44 NASB95

41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

The moment that you choose to give and give generously is the moment your faith will be put to the test. It’s the moment you will have a health crisis. It’s the moment your car will break down. It’s the moment bills will pile up. It’s the moment you have another child. It’s the moment you lose your job.

2 Corinthians 9:8 NASB95

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

C. God promises out of your faithfulness He will not only sustain you, but give you an abundance for every good deed.

What’s that mean?

It means however God desires to use you for His glory in this life, He will richly supply the means to do so. Put Him to the test!

So where are you holding back? What does giving generously to God look like in your life?

D. 5 Ways to Give

Freely - You choose. What does it look like for you to give to Jesus with everything you have? Pray with your spouse. Talk with your parents. Ask Jesus what it looks like for you to give with everything you have.

Joyfully - Give with great joy. Don’t give under compulsion. It’s fun to give to God. It’s fun to watch as He takes that gift and stretches it in ways you couldn’t even possibly imagine. It’s fun to bless others.

Sacrificially - What does it look like for you to give financially in a way that actually costs you something? What does it look like for you to give in a way that requires God to show up?

Consistently - What does it look like to be continually faithful in giving? What would happen if for the next year, this church set a goal to give consistently in their gratitude, in their forgiveness, and in their resources? How would we see God move in our families, this body of believers, and our community?

Expectantly - In your giving, would you put God to the test? Would you give expecting that God will supply your every need for His glory and purpose here in this life?

Conclusion