"Generous Giving"

KJV 1900

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Review of weeks 1 and 2

Week 1: 5 Total Trust Statements

5 Total Trust statements

​I am totally reliant upon him. To call him my shepherd, I must confess that I am a sheep. I lack the ability to provide for myself, I have a terrible sense of direction and I cannot defend myself

He knows what is best for me. He makes me lie down. When my instinct tells me the best solution is do more, try harder, reach further…He makes me take rest. He knows better than I do what I have need of.

My direction is clearer when He is closer. He leadeth into green pastures and beside still waters. I don’t need to know how to get to the pasture nor to the still waters…I simply need to stay close to the shepherd…he will lead me where I need to go.

His strength and might bring comfort to my life. The rod and the staff were the same instrument that served two purposes…as a rod it was used to drive away and even destroy predators. As a staff it was used to lift sheep out of precarious places and to nudge them back onto the right path. When I don’t trust the shepherd, I can live like it is a rod to condemn me and even aid my adversaries in my defeat.

When he is at the center, my darkest hour and lowest point, strengthen my faith. It was in the dark valley of the shadow of death that the 23rd Psalm from a third person poem about God to first person narrative too God. When the I am is at the center of our lives, our darkest storms draw us closer to the Good Shepherd.

Week 2: 5 complete contentment confessions

I have everything that I need

I am whole

I am whole

I am secure

I am secure

I am favored

I am favored

I am home

I am home

This week

As stated at the onset of this series…this is an extreme Trust series. As the physical workout series P90X promises a transformation of the physical body. The creators of the workout program are certain, IF you follow the daily workouts that are provided and you eat the daily portions that are suggested, that you will see a transformation from out-of-shape to tip-top-shape that…so convinced are they, that you will love the results, they even offer a money back guarantee.

Likewise, I am equally convinced of the undeniable transformation those that put their trust in the Lord will experience in their faith. I am absolutely convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that when you fully place your trust in the Lord your faith will go from busted to positioned to be blessed. The Prophet Jeremiah declared in

Jeremiah 17:7 KJV 1900

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

and confidently proclaims

Psalm 34:8 KJV 1900

O taste and see that the Lord is good: Blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

I am certain that when you learn to mind your own manna…and not compare the state that you are in, with others around you…but you can say, I have everything that I need…you will have aligned your faith for the windows of heaven to be opened upon your life…and for God to trust you as a conduit of blessings rather than jut a container.

What can you pour more into? A conduit or a container?

AND SO…as the Psalmist Declares his trust in the great shepherd and emphatically denounces want and discontentment, he comes toward the conclusion of this beloved passage and makes on summarizing statement that I want to use to preach for a few minutes this morning. It is this final phrase that is the litmus that reveals if the Lord is truly our shepherd or just a figure standing in the pasture we occasionally graze in. It is our application of this final phrase that will reveal if we are truly content in whatever state we are in, or if we willing participants in the cultural rat-race for More! More! More!

It is easy to SAY, the Lord is my Shepherd!

And it is easy to declare, I shall not want!

but it is here in this closing statement that David reveal’s the final exercise of a strong and enduring faith, when he declares....My cup runneth over!

and for a few minutes today I want to preach on this final point that will transform your faith and tone your trust in the Lord...

Generous Giving

Last week we looked at the Old Testament example of the children of Israel who were hangry…irrational angry because of their hunger. Having been delivered from slavery and bondage in Egypt and now, just a few days removed from being delivered and watching their enemies be destroyed…because of hunger, they are wishing to return to the bondage of Egypt. The Lord sees their hunger and provides them with manna and gives them just one stipulation…take as much as you can eat…just no leftovers. Yet some of them decided to take more than what they needed, and the result was that it stank and was infested with maggots.

You see our result when we don’t trust the Lord as our Shepherd and when we aren’t truly content…when our lives begin to be blessed to the point that our cup runs over…We are inclined to go get a bigger cup!

If God is blessing my life…then I need to go get a bigger container so that I can gather all of the blessings that are coming my way...

But David’s declaration is that “my cup runneth over”.

Can I tell you today that God is NOT a distracted distributor…he isn’t still pouring because he lost track of how full your cup was…he is still pouring because he wan’t to transform you from a container to a conduit!

Thats how the kingdom of God expands…when those that trust him and are content allow the blessings of the Lord to breach the brim of their borders and begin to flow into the lives of those around them.

My cup runneth over!

This is a statement that you will never hear those that do not trust the Lord make…they gather and store the surplus for tomorrow…just in case the shepherd forgets how to supply.

My cup runneth over is a statement the discontented will never make because no matter where they are or what they have, it is never enough!

But those that trust in the Lord and those that have learned to be content, their lives become a fountain of blessing that flows over its banks and brings life to everything around it.

For just a moment, let’s Contrast the passages in and

Luke 12:16–21 KJV 1900

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Joel 2:23–26 KJV 1900

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: For he hath given you the former rain moderately, And he will cause to come down for you the rain, The former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, And the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, The cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord your God, That hath dealt wondrously with you: And my people shall never be ashamed.

My Cup runneth over:

The fact is, until we learn to trust God and learn to be content in what he has blessed us with, our cups Never will run over.

We will always find some place for the excess to go. No way am I going let that spill over…now I can afford to

Yesterday Bro. Wilson, Bro. Johnson and I were talking about the state of pro sports…in 2018 the average NBA player is making $6.2 million dollars a season! 46 NBA players will make over $20 million dollars this year.

How many of you think that you could make $6 million dollars and be ok for the rest of your life?

While the obvious answer is “YES”!! Or “I sure would love to try”!! in reality, the odds are that you would not be able to.

In spite of the average NBA player making $6 million dollars per season…60% of the players are bankrupt within 5 years of retiring from the league!

In the NFL, the average salary is a much more respective $2 million per year…again…who thinks they could make it if they spent a few years making $2 million per season? Yet the facts are that 78% of NFL players are bankrupt within 5 years of retiring from the league.

Why is this? Because we simply expand our cup to match the outpour…we find ways to spend it!

If we go from making $15 an hour to making $150,000 a year, we don’t usually gain more peace…we don’t generally become more generous…it usually reflects in bigger houses, nicer cars, a more dapper wardrobe....we find ways to soak up the overflow!

What I am not saying is that having nice things are wrong or a sin.

Ecclesiastes 5:18–19 NASB95

Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.

The fact is, until we learn to trust God and learn to be content in what he has blessed us with, our cups Never will run over.

The fact is, until we learn to trust God and learn to be content in what he has blessed us with, our cups Never will run over.

We will always find some place for the excess to go. No way am I going let that spill over…now I can afford to

Do I trust God enough to allow my cup to run over?

Am I content enough to all0ow my cup to run over?

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

2 Corinthians 9:6–11 LEB

Now the point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one should give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to cause all grace to abound to you, so that in everything at all times, because you have enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work. Just as it is written, “He scattered widely, he gave to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.” Now the one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed, and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow, being made rich in every way for all generosity, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,

I am just going to mention areas that we need to trust God, be content with the state that we are in.

There are three areas of our lives that God desires our lives to be conduits and not containers:

I am just going to mention areas that we need to trust God, be content with the state that we are in.

Our Time

Que the final phrase from God to rich man, that unwisely decided the answer to surplus was to build bigger barns in Luke chapter 12 and was regarded as a fool by God…” So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” or as it is stated in the New Living Translation “A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Anyone ever said “there just aren’t enough hours in a day”?

The fact is there are 24 hours in every day…There were 24 hours in a day for Adam and Eve, there were 24 hours in a day for Jesus…and there are 24 hours in a day for you and me.

If we aren’t careful, we become penny pinchers in our time with God. We think nothing of a job that demands 40 hours a week.

but shudder at the thought of serving a God that would expect us to devote more than a few moments to his service.

We ensure that we have free time

Family time

exercise time

shopping time

bed time

hobby time....

but foolish is the man that store’s up earthly wealth but does not have a rich relationship with God.

My cup runneth over

We demonstrate trust and contentment when give God our first and our best.

Don’t give God those last 2 minutes as your falling asleep and you don’t even know what you’re saying!

Don’t just show up to church on rainy, cold Sundays when a cookout and the park isn’t an option…

b. Our Talents

This is a bit of a soap box or perhaps a candy stick of mine. When folks freely give their talents to things that are passing and fading and then get stingy when it comes to God!

Don’t catch them at Karaoke on Friday…or in the club on Saturday…they are dancing with the stars…but you catch them in church on Sunday and they sit their and never utter a sound and act like they can’t move!

Let’s take it further…if God gave you the wherewithal to manage and oversee in the workplace, you should be utilizing that talent to lead in His Kingdom!

c. Our Treasure

there is nothing that demonstrates trust and contentment more than paying tithes.

When we don’t trust that God is our provider, we will nickel and dime our way out of giving God what is rightfully his.

if you go on google right now, you will find articles and forums of discussion, cherry picking through the scripture to prove that you don’t need to pay your tithes. They will tell you that tithing was under the Law, so it is therefore obsolete.

When in fact, tithing pre-existed the Law as Abraham paid tithes unto Melchezedik some 600 years before the law.

Some of the same people that reject that tells us to honor the Lord with the firstfruit of all of our increase because it was under the law, yet cleave to which tells us that the Name of the Name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run into it and they are safe.

They reject the writings of the minor prophet Malachi who encouraged us to prove God in our tithing, but uplift the the minor prophet Micah’s words of encouragement when he declares “Rejoice not against me Oh mine enemies, when I fall I shall arise!

Cherry picking the Word of God will always leave you with the pits!

Let me first state that being faithful in paying your tithe is not overflow. Your tithe does not come out of surplus, your tithe comes out of your substance! It’s not the overflow that runs over your cup…its the substance that is in your cup!

Biblically, a tithe is 10%. And it should be your first 10%

If I’ve had it asked once, I’ve had it asked a thousand times…pastor, I can’t afford to pay my tithes…after I pay all of my bills and buy groceries, I don’t have 10% left.

And there is where the problem lies. you don’t pay tithes after you pay anything…you pay your tithes first and then you pay the other bills.

Secondly, the phrase “I can’t afford to pay tithes” is a glaring mistake…the fact is that I can’t afford to NOT pay tithes.

Very quickly, lets look at Malachi chapter 3 vs 8-12

Malachi 3:8–12 KJV 1900

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, Even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be meat in mine house, And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, If I will not open you the windows of heaven, And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, And he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; Neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: For ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

YE have robbed me in tithes and offerings

Look at the beginning of verse 10… “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse”.

No curse!

we will come back to vs 10..but there comes that cup running over again.

rebuke the devourer

all nations shall call you blessed

The first thing that I do when the washer breaks down and the transmission dies and the roof springs a leak…I go back and make sure that I have paid my tithes.

Because His word tells me that if I will honor God FIRST in my increase, he will rebuke the devourer!

Now lets look back at verse 10. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it!

When we demonstrate trust and contentment in tithing of our substance…the cup runs over!

Then we are called to bless God from our abundance!

At Living Hope we encourage giving in 4 areas:

Tithing, General offerings, Missions and building fund

our tithe which is biblically defined as being 10% of our substance.

And then out of our abundance, we encourage giving to General offering, which enables us to fund the programs and events to reach and bless others,

missions - giving to support the spreading of the Gospel worldwide

building fund - the upkeep and maintenance of this building and the future building of phase 2 of our LH campus.

Prove me!

If you commit to bring your tithe (10% of your income) to Living Hope, as a means of tithing to the Lord, each week for 90 days, the Lord will bless you. However, if at the end of 90 days, you have not been blessed, are worse off financially, or think it was a mistake, Living Hope will refund 100% of the money you gave.

If you commit to bring your tithe (10% of your income) to Living Hope, as a means of tithing to the Lord, each week for 90 days, the Lord will bless you. However, if at the end of 90 days, you have not been blessed, are worse off financially, or think it was a mistake, Living Hope will refund 100% of the money you gave.

If you will honestly and consistently uphold the commitment, you have nothing to Lose and everything to gain.

Especially since you will be more likely to be able to claim he is The Lord of All and at the Center of your life. Be walking the talk!