It’s a Heart Thing

Josh Herrera

Overflow • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

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Transcript

Greeting

Good morning Lighthouse!

Happy Labor Day weekend to you all. For those of you who chose to be here today, and not skip out on church, there is a special place in heaven just for you! I’m so glad you made it a point and a priority to be here today.

I am excited because we are kicking off a brand new teaching series today and it is called Overflow.

Me desire in this series is that you would get a fresh perspective on the kind of life that I believe God wants for you to live, based on principles found in the Bible. And, this is a generosity series.

Now, for those of you who have been a part of our Lighthouse family for over a year, some of this teaching you will have heard before. Why would I repeat it? Well two reasons:

Our church is growing! Just two months ago we had the largest single baptism day in our young history. So this is going to be new material for a lot of people here today.

Some of you have heard this, but you haven’t started living it yet. And believe it or not the Bible does talk about being a hearer of the word and not a doer of the word. So, we hope that this month something would “click” for you, and you move from not just being a hearer of the word, but a doer of the word.

Does that sound good everybody?

Reading

Matthew 7:1–2 NIV

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Luke 6:37–38 (NIV)

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

It’s a Heart Thing

Introduction

Raising my boys I was always impressed with how generous they were with my money. Am I the only one?

My boys would be so tightfisted with whatever was theirs, but the minute that it was mine, they were the most extravagant little givers on the planet.

One time I was taking my boys, who were real small at the time, to eat at Chick Fil A. My son Jude observed a man asking for money. When he asked why he was doing that I explained to him that he had a need and was asking for help. Immediately my Jude said, “Dad! You need to give him money!”

And I let him know that I’m a debit card Dad and that I didn’t have any cash on me. I wasn’t lying.

But Jude quickly pointed out that I always have spare change, some loose coins, in my car.

Now if you know my Jude, he was not going to let this go. So I grabbed my coins, walked over to the man and handed him my coins, and almost apologized that I didn’t have any cash to give him. I did this with my smiling little boy next to me.

Why is it that children are so generous with their parent’s money?

That’s actually rooted in something that I believe God wants from us and what we’re going to talk about today.

Text - Theology of Giving

Let’s get back to our text and make sense of these two verses.

Jesus preached his most well known sermon and it was such a banger that they gave it a title - The Sermon on the Mount.

This sermon was heard by hundreds of people! And thankfully, we have written records of what Jesus said. But we also have personal records of what Jesus said.

So what that means is, sometimes a group of people can all listen to the same person, and walk away with different points of emphasis. That’s why in Matthew’s gospel, and in Luke’s gospel, we have the same message, but with some slightly different understanding.

So let’s lean in once more to what Matthew said…

Matthew 7:1–2 NIV

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

And what we go to Luke’s message…

Luke 6:37–38 NIV

Now why am I contrasting these verses?

Because this part of the verse…

Luke 6:37–38 (NIV)

Is often taken out of context, and it is misapplied to be a verse about money.

But what we read in these gospels together is that before it talks about giving it first talks about judging others. Then it talks about condemning others. And then it talks about forgiving others. And after that, it is then that it talks about giving.

Do you see it now?

No where in this passage of scripture is Jesus saying anything about money.

Jesus is speaking to the principle of sowing and reaping.

When you sow forgiveness to people, what do you think will happen when you are in need of forgiveness? You are going to likely receive forgiveness.

But, if you sow judgment and condemnation to others, when you are in need of forgiveness, you’ll probably reap condemnation and judgment.

And when you give to others, it is likely that you will receive from others.

And giving looks like a lot of things, doesn’t it?

You can give someone your time

You can give someone your knowledge

You can give someone your influence

You can give someone your generosity

[Transition]

And here’s something that is hidden in plain sight - the Bible is a book about giving!

John 3:16 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And if time permitted I could go on and on about how God:

Gives us a new heart

Gives us his Spirit

Gives us the resources we have

Gives us his mercy

And we can go on and on…

But beyond that, the Bible teaches us that we are to model that by also giving…

We give our hearts to Jesus - that’s first!

We give ourselves to our spouse

We give ourselves to our families

We give our talents to our employer

We give our time to our church

So we have a book about a Savior who gives to us, and then tells us to do the same every day and give to others.

The Generous Heart

Now I think so far I’ve got the whole room with me, because I haven’t touched the subject of money… We’re very generous with everything BUT our money.

But what we read in the scriptures is that the way that God truly develops a generous heart is through our money.

Let me ask the room, how many of you want to be known as a generous person?

You all know what the opposite of that is right?

Like, if you didn’t raise your hand, by default you are saying, “Nah Pastor, I want to be stingy! I want to be known as the stingy man!”

No one says that, right?

But it happens…

And Jesus spoke against that, and when we go back to the Old Testament of the Bible, we’ll find this principle at work in the very life and fabric of God’s people.

Let’s read a few verses together so that we see the heart of God when it comes to being a giving and a generous person.

Deuteronomy 15:7–8 (NIV)

If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you (God gave it), do not be hardhearted (selfish) or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend (attitude about heart) them whatever they need.

This sounds like our Generosity Liturgy doesn’t it?

Why is that? Because we become what we repeatedly say about ourselves. It’s the power of a declaration!

But I want to keep reading here in Deuteronomy and show you why and how God will develop a Generous Heart.

Deal with our Selfish Heart

Deuteronomy 15:9 (NIV)

Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin.

This passage of scripture is talking about a law in Israel that was called the Year of Jubilee. And according to the law, debts were cancelled every seven calendar years. The people of God weren’t meant to carry any debt for an extended period of time.

And what the Lord was saying is if it’s year 6 and someone needs a loan, don’t withhold from them because you know that jubilee is coming. God deals with that straight on and do what does he say about that kind of selfish attitude? He calls it a sin.

In the King James version the language is stronger - it’s called wickedness.

Why do you think God speaks so strongly about the selfish heart?

Because God is not selfish.

It is not his nature, it is not his identity, and nothing in the Bible describes Him this way. He is a GIVING GOD and he wants for us to develop that same identity. He wants his children to experience the joy of generosity!

Let me read to you some information about selfishness and generosity that is not in the scriptures, but let me give you a bit of an apologetic about this topic:

BOOK “Research consistently shows that people who give to others are happier than those who don’t. Generosity is not just a way to help others; it’s a way to improve your own life.” - "The Science of Generosity" by Jason Marsh and Jeremy Adam Smith

ARTICLE “Giving activates brain regions associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust. This suggests that the act of giving may enhance personal well-being by tapping into neural reward systems.” "The Neuroscience of Generosity" by Jason Marsh

ARTICLE “Our research demonstrates that the act of giving can not only improve the lives of others but also boost the giver’s own happiness and sense of fulfillment.” - "The Power of Generosity: How Giving Transforms Us" by Michael S. Norton and Elizabeth W. Dunn

RESEARCH PAPER “A wealth of studies has shown that giving to others is consistently associated with higher levels of happiness and greater life satisfaction.” - "Generosity and Happiness: A Review of the Evidence" by Robert A. Emmons

All of that to say, is that science is once again catching up to the scriptures!

So even if you are a man of Science, like Eskeleto from Nacho Libre, God wants to break the selfish heart and give you all of the benefits of a generous heart!

2. Deal with our Grudging Heart

Deuteronomy 15:10 (NIV)

Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

You can not give generously and grudgingly at the same time…

I want you to think about toddlers for just a moment. Toddlers are some of the most selfish people on earth! Aren’t they? The toy that matters most to them is the one you want to play with.

There could be a toy that hasn’t seen the light of day for 3 months, and the minute you touch it, “That’s mine!”

We laugh about it becuase of how silly it is.

When my kids would do this, I would remind them that this was their toy and they would get this back when their friend left. And only then they would do it, but they would do it grudgingly.

Now, when an adult does that…

Not cute, is it?

There is a way to give and we are to give generously… give and expect nothing in return and knowing that our God in heaven has us!

Come on, how many of you know that God has you!

3. Develop a Generous Heart

Deuteronomy 15:14 (NIV)

Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you.

Let your generosity be rooted not in what others can do for you, but in what you know that your Lord God can do for you!

God has blessed me, so I need to be a blessing to others!

4. Develop a Grateful Heart

Deuteronomy 15:15 (NIV)

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.

A grateful heart remembers where God brought them from!

I was recently speaking with someone about overcoming family financial struggles and it was a great conversation. And it reminds me of what I’ve seen happen in the lives of people who come to faith.

Some people come to faith, and they had broken homes, and much of that was because of financial hardships, and so they have a propensity to have a scarcity mindset. I’m not going to call it greed, although it can become that. I’m calling it a scarcity mindset because when you’ve gone so long without, it’s hard to be generous when you finally have.

But this is what salvation does - it renews your mind!

So if there’s anyone here who was recently saved, or maybe no so recently, but you really struggle to be generous from a grateful heart, you need to pray for God to renew your relationship with money. Ask God to renew you in this area and then commit to developing your generosity.

Next Steps

Lighthouse, I want for you all to experience the joy of generosity!

And, it’s not just me, but there is a couple here in this church that has been on a journey of generosity. They were once up to $80,000 dollars in debt, and that’s not a mortgage. That’s all consumer and loan debt. But they decided to make a change and develop in their generosity. With God’s help, and with a plan they got rid of all of their debt and they are now working with families to do the same in their lives. They have been working with families here at Lighthouse and there are several who can already talk about the power of getting out of debt, and stepping into the light of generous living.

They are starting their next Financial Peace Connect Group in 2 weeks, and for some of you that’s what you need to do. You need to join that group and put a plan in place.

So right after this service, if you want a plan to get out of your financial situation and step into generous living, I want you to sign up for that group.

Call

Now I’ll close this message with this…

I said it already, but it’s worth saying again, God is not after your money, he’s after your heart. He doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart. But some of you have given your heart to money, and there’s a part of you that he can’t have because you have tied up that part of your heart to Mamon.

And I don’t mean to introduce a new word to you right now, but this was the word Jesus used to describe when your heart cannot fully commit to Jesus because your heart is committed to your money. Jesus calls that Mamon.

And today, I believe He wants to free you from Mamon, and for you to wholly commit your heart to Jesus.

Maybe for others of you, your issue is not money. It’s a relationship you are in. It’s an addiction that you have. It’s unbelief.

Whatever it is, our generous and loving father is asking today, would you give him your heart?

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