It's all about the heart
Good evening and welcome to Living Faith Church. I am so excited to be able to worship Jesus Christ with you on this amazing Wednesday. If we have never met before, my name is KK and I'm honored to serve this house as the Youth Pastor.
Living With Favor
Week 1 – A Heart of Generosity
Today we are starting a new teaching series called Living With Favor.
What is favor—specifically God’s favor?
God's favor refers to the special blessing, goodwill, and preferential treatment that God extends to individuals or groups—often beyond what is expected or deserved.
The Lord invites us to seek His favor. When we do, we humble our hearts before Him (2 Kings 22:19), seek Him for Himself—not just for blessings (Jeremiah 29:13), and arrange our lives around loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). We seek first His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
Personally, I want to seek the Lord's favor over every area of my life: my school, home life, friendships, work, and yes—even in my finances.
Some of you might think, “Why talk about money in youth group?” But the goal of this series is to equip you to see your money and resources the way God sees them. The love of money is a serious issue today—we see it in social media and influencer culture. There’s nothing wrong with earning, but when that becomes our source of joy, we're building on shaky ground.
Throughout this series, we’ll talk about many areas of stewardship. But today, we’re starting with the heart—specifically, with generosity.
Let’s Open Our Bibles
Matthew 7:1–2 (NASB95)
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 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)
“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 passages are from what we call the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Luke, we read the same moment in time but with a little more detail.
Luke 6:38 (NASB95)
“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, let me ask you: how many of you have ever read that verse and thought it was about money? It’s okay to admit it. Many of us were taught that.
But let’s look again at the context.
Luke 6:36–37 (NASB95)
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 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 verses are not about money. They are about mercy, judgment, forgiveness, and grace.
When Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you,” He’s referring to how we treat others. If you give mercy, you will receive mercy. If you give judgment, you will receive judgment—pressed down, shaken together, running over.
This is the law of sowing and reaping.
Matthew 5:7 (NASB95)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
James 2:13 (NASB95)
“For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Many of us are reaping what we’ve sown—bitterness, anger, division. It’s not random. It’s the harvest of the seeds we planted.
This should challenge us to consider: what are we sowing in our homes, our friendships, our thoughts? Are we sowing gossip, hate, disrespect? Or are we sowing generosity, kindness, and grace?
Generosity is a Matter of the Heart
Matthew 6:21 (NASB95)
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
If your treasure is in your stuff, your heart will be too. If it’s in the Kingdom, your heart follows. Jesus is after your heart—but He also knows that for most people, their heart is tied to their money.
Let’s consider how much this mattered to Jesus:
500 verses in the Bible are about prayer.
Less than 500 verses are about faith.
More than 2,000 verses are about money and possessions.
16 of the 38 parables Jesus told deal with money.
15% of Jesus’ recorded teachings were about finances—more than heaven and hell combined.
Why? Is heaven running low on resources? No. Jesus teaches about money not because He needs it—but because He knows how much of our heart is connected to it.
Jesus commands us to give, not for His benefit, but for ours. When we invest in the Kingdom of God, our heart will naturally follow 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?
1. 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.”
- A selfish heart puts me first—it calculates loss instead of trusting God with the outcome.
Practical Application:
Ask: When have I said “no” to helping someone just because it felt inconvenient or uncomfortable?
Start a “Yes List”: Encourage students to say “yes” at least once this week to someone else’s need, no matter how small—time, encouragement, a snack, etc.
2. Grieving 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.”
- A grieving heart gives—but regrets it. It’s generosity with strings attached.
Practical Application:
Challenge: Next time you give, don’t dwell on what you “lost”. Instead, celebrate what the other person gained.
Journaling Prompt: Write down a time you gave something up and God used it to bless someone else. Keep it as a reminder.
3. Generous Heart
Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)
“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”
- A generous heart gives freely and cheerfully, knowing God is the source and rewarder.
Practical Application:
Ask: What’s one thing I’ve been holding onto that I could give to someone this week—time, encouragement, lunch, prayer, a gift?
4. Grateful Heart
2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
- A grateful heart recognizes that everything we have is from God, and giving is just giving back.
Reflection: Ask students to list five things they’re thankful for right now. Gratitude fuels generosity.
Group Challenge: Write thank-you notes or voice memos to people who’ve blessed you recently—honor cultivates a grateful spirit.
Conclusion;
Generosity isn’t about how much you have—it’s about the posture of your heart. A selfish heart holds tightly. A grieving heart gives but regrets. A generous heart gives freely. A grateful heart gives back to God because it knows where everything came from in the first place.
Generosity is a sign of a surrendered heart. Favor flows from a life aligned with God's principles—and God honors a heart that reflects His own. Let’s not just talk about generosity—let’s live it. Let’s examine what we’re sowing, what we’re treasuring, and where our heart really is.
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.”
