Am I Generous

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 in week number five of this series Walking In Favor.

Right here today, I want to do something spectacular. I want to ask you to do something with me. If you would say, Pr. Aaron, I have seen an increase of God’s favor on my life since putting these messages into practice in my life, raise your hand with me.

Wait for hands raise

Incredible—hands are going up all over this room! And can I just tell you… this is why I preach this series. Not for hype, not for applause—but because I’ve seen it work. I’ve watched these principles change lives. They don’t just stir emotion—they attract the favor of God. And listen—I want that favor resting on your life.

But here’s the real test:

If you truly believe you’re someone who carries God’s favor, then you must also be someone who can look at your time, your talents, and your treasure and boldly say: “I live open-handed. I live generous.” Because this is what the Word of God declares:

Proverbs 11:25 NASB95

25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.

Judas & Mary

Generous people attract the favor of God. So, how do we answer the question “Am I Generous”. This is what I want to share with you today. Let’s all begin by taking a look at John 12.

John 12:1–6 NASB95

1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. 3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.

This passage should cause each of us to ask two very important questions.

Why did Mary give so much

Why did it upset Judas?

Have you ever seen someone give generously and thought to yourself, I wish that I had more so that I could be generous like that too? Can I be honest with you? You already do have enough. Luke 21 tells us of a time when the offering plate was being passed in the synagogue, there was this widowed woman who gave only one small coin worth about a penny each. Look at Jesus words to this crowd.    

Luke 21:3 NASB95

3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;

Generosity Defined

Generosity is not a condition of your bank account, it’s a condition of your heart. And look at this; it was the generosity of Mary that caused the selfish heart of Judas to manifest.

Generosity is the enemy of selfishness.

“I” don’t have enough to be generous.

If “I” had more I could give more.

“I” need to take care of my needs first.

If you ever need to self diagnose your heart, just remember this:

· Generosity begins with G (God)

· Selfishness begins with S (Satan)

We don’ve have to develop a selfish heart anymore than we have to develop a sinful heart- we are born with it.

One of the first words a child learns to pronounce with Olympic-level clarity is: MINE. Not “mama,” not “dada”—nope, mine. And they don’t just say it—they shriek it in that special frequency only dogs and exhausted parents can hear. It’s like a toddler’s built-in air raid siren.

Eventually, every parent hits that moment where justice takes a backseat to sanity. You’re not trying to be fair anymore—you’re just trying to survive. So you mutter through gritted teeth, “Johnny, just give her the toy.” Johnny, confused but loyal to property rights, protests, “But it’s mine!” And we say what every sleep-deprived, noise-hating parent has said since the dawn of Fisher-Price: “I don’t care. Just give it to her.” Because silence is golden, and apparently so is that plastic dinosaur.

Now, here’s the twist: that word mine—the one we clutch like a toddler with a juice box? Jesus flips it on us. He looks right at us, grown adults with bank accounts and budgets, and says, “The tithe… is MINE.”

Not yours. Not negotiable. Not up for trade. Mine.

See, He’s not being petty—He’s helping us grow out of our toddler phase. He knows that spiritual maturity starts where selfishness ends. And letting go of mine is the beginning of becoming His.

Dealing With Greedy Hearts

This story of Judas and Mary is so powerful. because we hear this question from Judas;

John 12:5 NASB95

5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?”

Have you heard this statement before? It sounds noble, doesn’t it? “Why wasn’t this sold and given to the poor?” It’s the kind of question that sounds righteous… but often carries something far more sinister underneath.

Judas wasn’t concerned about the poor. Rather he used the language of charity to cover a heart of greed. And we still hear that voice today: people who cloak judgment in virtue, who criticize generosity because it wasn’t done their way, or because it didn’t benefit them.

Sometimes it’s not really about helping the poor—it’s about having control. About self-righteousness. About resentment masked as justice.

The truth is we do this because we see the extravagance or perceived extravagance of another.

Here is the definition of extravagance. The one who has more than you.

Look at that car; that is too much – too much. It’s too much until you can afford a car like that yourself, and now something else becomes extravagant. See we are always wanting to point to someone else, so we don’t have to point to ourselves. Picking on people we will never know, for having things we feel we will never have to satisfy a greedy heart that can never be satisfied.

It’s A Test We Must Pass

See, while a generous heart can never give enough, a greedy heart can never get enough. Judas was criticizing Mary for her generous anointing of Jesus, all the while the Bible tells us that he was stealing money from offering. Have you ever wondered why Jesus would put a thief in charge of the money box? We know that Jesus knew about this because prior to this, actually two years prior in John 6 Jesus said this:

John 6:70 NASB95

70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”

Let me suggest to you that Jesus did not put Judas in this position so that he could fail, but rather Jesus put Judas in the position to give him an opportunity to pass a test that would change his life forever. Jesus will never tempt you. James 1:13 tells us this plainly. But Jesus does test us; James 1:12, Romans 1:2-4, Proverbs 17:3. Jesus loved Judas and so Jesus placed a test in front of Judas as a gateway for promotion.

This is the test for us all. To believe that God is so good that you can’t out give Him. To believe that you can not give more that what God can reward. This is a stretch for our faith. But the bigger stretch for us all is the stretch of our heart. To give to God out of a heart of gratitude and not a heart of selfishness. When we give to get, we always loose out, because the heart that lives to get more can never get enough. But likewise, the heart that lives to give, can never GIVE enough. That’s why God is so generous, He is thrilled to blessing you, He won't ever run out of blessings, or get tired of blessing you. He always has more. Remember what Ephesians says.

The Flow of the Generous Heart

Ephesians 3:20 NASB95

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

I believe that a heart of generosity begins with realizing who we were without God, and what we have become because of God.

1 Corinthians 15:10 NASB95

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

When the people of God become intimately acquainted with these two realities, who we were without God, and who we are because of Him, I believe radical generosity with flow out of us spontaneously.

There are three levels of giving. Tithe, Offering and Extravagant Gifts. Extravagant gifts are gifts that are given out of the overflow of our heart. They are birthed in the soil of recognition of who we were without God, and who we are now with God. Extravagant gifts are mentioned all throughout Scripture.

Jesus was Gods extravagant gift to the world. Gods one and only Son – That is quite extravagant.

Acts 2:44,45 the early church gave extravagantly, money and possessions given generously to anyone in need. Land given to the as an extravagant gift for the Lord to use among His people as needed.

2 Chronicles 31 Israel gave so extravagantly there was literally piles in the temple. So much so that King Hezekiah asks the Priests – are these people OK?

Salvation Response

I believe that there are some of us in this room here today, who… you didn’t come expecting this, or maybe even asking for this… but God wants to generously lather His love upon your heart. I want to pray for two groups of people.

The Callused Heart

As we go through season of life, especially the difficult season, there are times when our heart begins to develop a callous towards Gods love, our fire and passion for Him begins to grow cold because of business and distraction. Sometimes we don’t ask God for things because we feel we don’t deserve it, and so our of condemnation we are empty of Gods blessings. Today, God want’s to generously pour fire, and passion and love into you. He wants to give you more than an offering of love, but an extravagant gift of love.

So this morning, we are responding to

Heavy Hearts

Cold Hearts

Hearts that are carrying heavy burdens, maybe financial pressure, relational pressure, wisdom for the future.

Maybe you need a physical healing… come forward we want to pray for you!

The Far Away Heart

Maybe you came here today thinking, I’ll give Jesus one more chance. Maybe you thought to yourself; I don’t know if Jesus or church can do anything for me, but I’ll try. I’m here today to tell you that you came at just the right time. In just a moment I’m going to ask you to raise your hand so that we can pray to God together for that new life. Look at what Romans says:

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:6 NASB95

Gods not waiting for you to clean up so that He can forgive you. He is ready now! If you want real life change; if you want your sins forgiven and your guilt washed away. If you want to walk out of this room knowing that you are free from shame, fear and the weight that sin burdens you down with, this is your moment. Romans 10 says:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9 NIV

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. 

* KEEP YOUR HANDS RAISED HIGH - I HAVE A PRAYER PARTNER COMING TO PRAY WITH YOU

“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.”