It’s All About The Heart

Good morning and welcome to Living Faith Church. I am so excited to be able to worship Jesus Christ with you on this amazing Sunday. If we have never met before, my name is Aaron. My wife Stella and I are honored to be able to serve on the Pastoral team at LFC. Today we are starting a new teaching series called Walking With Favor. And this is a series developed to teach how to do exactly that, live a life of Favor. Sometimes as Christians we are tempted to think like the psalmist- He said

Psalm 73:3 NASB95

3 For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Sometimes we look at the world and think, because they have this, they are blessed. Because they have a big house, they are blessed. Because they have 2 cars, they are blessed. They have a boat and Jet Skies’; they must be blessed. I know you know this, but you still need to hear it. You can have all of these things and not be blessed. You cannot separate your favor from your God. The Lord determines the favor you live with, and there are principles to living a life of favor. Today I want to uncover the first principle, the principle of generosity. Let’s look at a couple verses.

Matthew 7:1–2 NASB95

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

Luke 6:37 NASB95

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

These two passages are parallels of each other, each taken out of one of the synoptic Gospels. Synoptic Gospels being Matthew, Mark and Luke. Matthew 7 and Luke 6 in these verses share the same moment in time and say nearly the exact same words. Now look with me at Luke 6:38, just one verse down.

Luke 6:38 NASB95

38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

Now, I want to ask you a question, those of you who read your Bible. How many of you have ever read this passage of the Bible and read this and thought about your money. Just be honest, I’m not up here judging you. Have you ever read this and thought, “if I give, God will ensure I am blessed in return - ‘Give and it will be given…’” Of course we have… that’s what we have been taught. But I want you today to look at the context from which this passage is taken. What do we read? Look with me for just a moment at Luke 6:36,37

Luke 6:36–37 NASB95

36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

This passage is not talking about your money.  This passage isn’t talking about tithing or your offerings. This passage is talking about, judging others, condemning others, mercy and pardon. He says. Do not judge and you will not be judged. Look at his follow up to that in verse 38- The amount that you give will determine the about you get back

Luke 6:38 NASB95

38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

When you are merciful, He says mercy will be given back to you. If you don’t believe me , look at this:

Matthew 5:7 NASB95

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

James 2:13 NASB95

13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

So mercy is shown to the merciful, And how? It will be given, pressed down, shaken together, full and running over. If you are cruel and unforgiving, if you are unmerciful what is going to happen? It’s going to be given back to you, pressed down, shaken together and full and running over.  This is what we call “The Law of Sewing and Reaping”.

Take this Bell Pepper for example. This bell pepper came to me because someone planted it in the ground. But it came off of a vine of peppers that was produced from one seed. And look inside, this one pepper has so much to give. For some of us, this explains your season of life. I remember as a young child visiting this pastor’s home. I woke up early in the morning and felt such a peace - a peace that remained in my memory all these years. That peace was the result of time spent in the Lord’s presence. Some of us are reaping a harvest of bitterness, and anger and strife. This is the harvest of seeds sown.

This law should cause us to consider carefully what it is we are sewing in our homes, in our lives, in our thoughts, in our relationships. Are you sewing gossip, discord, disrespect? That’s exactly what you will receive back and… pressed down, shaken together, full and overflowing

Generosity is the key to building a life of favor, and “Generosity is a condition of your heart” Generosity is not a condition of your tongue, it’s not a condition of your wallet.

Matthew 6:21 NASB95

21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If it’s true that the condition of our heart determines the blessing, then we must deal with the condition of our heart. And Jesus says,

where your treasure: [thēsauros - riches - wealth - wealth that is stored up because of its value] That is where your heart is.

So, JESUS IS AFTER YOUR HEART first and foremost, but for all of us, Jesus said it not me, It’s righ here in Matthew 6:21- the way to your heart is through your money. In the Bible there are:

500 verses on prayer,

Less than 500 verses on faith,

And more than 2,000 verses on money.

16 out of the 38 parables deal with finance and possessions

15 percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions.

That would be equal to us teaching on finances 8 weeks out of the year. This is so crucial to Jesus, that he taught on money and possessions more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined. Let me ask you this. Why does Jesus instruct us to give? Is it because He’s got too much month and the end of His money? Is heaven running low on gold to pave the streets? I want to suggest to you today, that Jesus commands us to give, because Jesus knows that when we give into the Kingdom of God, our heart will naturally draw to the Kingdom of God, because.

Matthew 6:21 NASB95

21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

How do we develop a heart of generosity? This is a huge question. All the way back in the book of Deuteronomy God tells us how to develop this heart of generosity that commands the blessings of God. Look with me if you will at Deuteronomy 15:7.

Deuteronomy 15:7–8 NASB95

7 “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8 but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.

So how do we develop a GENEROUS heart. A heart that commands the blessings of God.

The Selfish Heart

The first thing we have to work on is this: Deal With SELFISHNESS. Becuase a selfish heart throttles the work of God. Look with me at verse 10 of this passage we read earlier.

Deuteronomy 15:9 ESV

9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin.

Let me explain what this means. During this time the law stated that every seven years all debt was released. So if a man came to you and asked for a loan, and your are six and a half years into the seventh year cycle, you may be tempted to think, I don’t want to loan him all that money because he may not be able to repay it all in six months, and in six months I’m going to have to forgive this debt. God says that kind of heart is… look, Deuteronomy 15:9 “unworthy” the NKJV uses the word “wicked”. He says it’s a wicked heart. It’s selfishness, thinking only of ourselves and our own needs. God says, I want you to deal with your selfish heart, and the way to do that is to give generously.

Look at what it says at the end of this verse.

Deuteronomy 15:9 ESV

9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin.

The Lord literally considers our stinginess as sinfulness and God says it is born out of a wicked heart. Our God is a selfless God - He gives love to those who will not return it, He forgives those who will not forgive Him, and He blesses those who take the blessing and call it their profit.

The Grieving Heart

The second thing we have to work on is this: Deal With A GRIEVING Heart

A grieving heart is a heart that gives and then regrets. Look at Deuteronomy 15:10

Deuteronomy 15:10 NASB95

10 “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.

Have you ever given something away and then soon after began to regret giving it away? While I was in college at Christ For The Nations we used to a week of giving. During this week students were encouraged to pray and selflessly give as the Lord directed them. Sometimes students would give cars, pay off student loans… this was a week of extravagant and selfless giving. I remember the first time I heard of this it seemed ridiculous to me. But I went to prayer a the Lord told me “Give “…” your guitar”. Now I had spent a lot of money on growing my collection of expensive guitars. To show you the condition of my heart, I had actually skipped out of my senior mission trip so that I could buy a guitar instead. That shows you my heart, and the cost of these guitars that I was buying. So, I really struggled with this word from God. I prayed it through to the point that I actually became excited about this idea of giving my guitar away. I called my friend to tell him all about how I was going to give my guitar away, and my friend began to convince me of how foolish my plan was. “You’re giving away your $3000.00 guitar! Are you nuts,” Slowly, selfishness began to creep in. I didn’t give that guitar away, and ironically a few years later I lost that guitar in a poor trade. Now, the very next year God challenged me again to give away another guitar. This time I obeyed God, and guess what, Satan tried to get me down with regret. First it was Selfishness that kept me from giving, then regret that tried to steal the blessing.

We grieve because we think it’s ours. Listen Deuteronomy 15:7

Deuteronomy 15:7 NASB95

7 “If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother;

Our money, our possessions all are given to us by God and likewise He has the right to designate them as He desires. When we give and grieve, we rob ourselves of the blessings of God. But generosity commands the blessing. If we give with the right heart, we will experience favor in everything we do!

The Generous Heart

Third we must: Develop A GENEROUSHeart

Deuteronomy 15:14 NASB95

14 “You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.

That word liberally means lavish someone with goods as gifts more than sufficient

Don’t just supply their needs, supply above and beyond. Give lavishly, furnish him liberally. And look at what He says at the end.

“As the Lord your God has blessed you.” - Deut 15:14 b - Where did it come from? It came from the Lord.

Psalm 24:1 NASB95

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

It’s a heart issue! A heart that holds its possessions close and calls them “mine” is a heart that is wicked and cannot give liberally. We must come to realize that even the things we call “mine” are really Gods. And God says, I’m not in lack, I’m not concerned about you giving too much… I own the whole world, it was created by me, If I need more, I’ll just speak and more will come into existence. So when you give, give abundantly.

A good exercise to work out a generous heart is what Stella and I call Wealth Wednesday. Wealth Wednesday is a day where we give lavishly. It comes in many forms. Buying someone’s meal, giving a waitress a large tip, paying for another person’s groceries or fuel. The idea is this:

- “painful generosity without expecting a return”

What did God tell Israel?

Deuteronomy 15:14 NASB95

14 “You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.

A Grateful Heart

Lastly, we must: Develop A GRATEFULHeart

Deuteronomy 15:15 NASB95

15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.

So, we give because Jesus first gave - and that first gift redeemed me out of my slavery to a life I could not free myself from. We give because we owe our entire life to Jesus Christ. My tithe pales in comparison to the gift of Jesus, But 10% of my money opens access to 100% of my heart. And this is what He is after! Look at Deuteronomy 15:15 again.

Deuteronomy 15:15

Deuteronomy 15:15 NASB95

15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.

What is He commanding? Look above. He is commanding your generosity. Why?

Ephesians 2:1 NASB95

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

Ephesians 2:5 NASB95

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Colossians 2:13 NASB95

13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

Salvation Response

You might be here today and thinking… you’re right… I am dead in my sin. I am desperately in need of JESUS! I’m here to tell you right now, Jesus can save, adopt you, free you from your past, from a dead future.

Maybe you do not have a personal relationship with God; maybe you are still carrying the anxiety, guilt, and pressure that sin induces in your life. Maybe you are stressed out by trying to navigate life all on your own. The Bible tells us:

Romans 10:9 NASB95

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

We know that sin leads to death – but the good news is this, Romans 6:23 calls the free gift of life “free”. I want to pray with you right now to receive this gift. If you would say, I want God’s forgiveness, I want to accept this gift of life, I want Jesus to live in my heart, raise your hand so I know who I am praying for.

“Heavenly Father, I trust You to save me through Your Son, Jesus. Forgive me for all of my sins. Make me brand new. Because You died for me, I want to live for You. Fill me with Your Spirit, so I could follow You. Jesus, You’re now my Lord and the Savior of my life. Take my life. It is Yours. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”