STINGY NO MORE - PROVERBS 11: 24

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 11)

24 One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. 25 A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. 26 People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it. 27 The one who searches for what is good seeks favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him.

BIG IDEA: DON’T STAY STINGY!

WE’RE BUILDING UPON OUR TEACHING, IN OUR GENEROUS SERIES...

ON SUNDAY, WE EXAMINED THE NAMELESS WIDOW IN MARK 12. IN A MOST PROFOUND WAY, THIS WOMEN TEACHES US WHAT SACRIFICIAL GIVING, MATCHED WITH PROFOUND GENEROSITY LOOKS LIKE...

AS JESUS “SAT SO HE COULD SEE,” THE WOMAN “GAVE SO SHE COULD SHOW,” US ALL WHAT GIVING OUR PERCEIVED LAST LOOKS LIKE...

SHE TEACHES US THAT OUR LAST IS NOT GOD’S LAST...

SHE TEACHES US THAT AS WE TRUSTED GOD FOR WHAT WE HAVE, WE MUST TRUST HIM TO DO IT CONTINUOUSLY...

GIVING IS NOT A ONE-TIME ACT.

GIVING IS A CONTINUOUS ACT - AN ONGOING ACTION, WHERE WE RECEIVE FROM GOD, AND THEN WE RELEASE TO GOD, IN ORDER TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS.

AND SO, WE HAVE US. THOSE WHO STRUGGLE TO GIVE - TO GIVE CONSISTENTLY - TO GIVE GENEROUSLY. US!

REMEMBER: LIVING IN STINGINESS ONLY AMPLIFIES OUR DISTRUST IN THE ONE WHO BLESSED US IN THE FIRST PLACE....

REMEMBER THE TWO PRINCIPLES I GAVE ON SUNDAY:

BEING STINGY LEAVES US EMPTY!

BEING GENEROUS LEAVES US PLENTEOUS!

24 One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

THIS ONE VERSE ENCOMPASSES OUR ENTIRE SERIES:

GIVERS GAIN

MISERS MISS

NOW, DON’T OVER SPIRITUALIZE THE SUBJECT. THIS VERSE DOES NOT SAY THAT IF YOU GIVE, GOD WILL MAKE YOU RICH…THE INFERENCE IS THIS: AS YOU GIVE, YOU WILL RECEIVE MORE - (((TO GIVE)))!

THIS IS WHERE FOLKS MISS BEING GENEROUS.

GIVERS HAVE LEARNED THE PRINCIPLE THAT GIVERS GAIN. THIS IS WHY GIVERS ARE ALWAYS GIVING.

THEY’VE SEEN HOW YOU SIMPLY CAN’T BEAT GOD GIVING. THE MORE YOU GIVE, THE MORE HE GIVES TO YOU TO GIVE!

GIVERS DO NOT GIVE TO GET. THEY GIVE TO BE A BLESSING. THEIR BLESSING COMES IN GOD CONTINUOUSLY GIVING THEM SOMETHING TO GIVE.

(((WATCH THIS: DON’T BEGIN TO GIVE, JUST TO GET! GOD KNOWS YOUR HEART AND YOUR MOTIVES))).

BEGIN TO GIVE TO BE A BLESSING AND TO GIVE GOD GLORY WITH YOUR RESOURCES....

Y’ALL, I GOT BLESSED ON SUNDAY (PASTOR’S APPRECIATION DAY), AND IMMEDIATELY I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BLAZER I WANTED, AND THIS....WELL.

AT THAT VERY MOMENT, I BECAME CONVICTED, AND THOUGHT, “HOW COULD I BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE?”

WHEN WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO EXPERIENCE CONVICTION, WE WILL ALWAYS BE IN A POSTURE TO GIVE...

NOW FLIP THE COIN ON THE OTHER SIDE…FLIP THE PILLOW ON THE COLD SIDE:

ANOTHER WITHHOLDS WHAT IS RIGHT, ONLY TO BECOME POOR.

MISERS MISS.

FIRST, YOU THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU’VE GOT MONEY (PERHAPS MORE THAN YOU’VE HAD IN A WHILE), THAT THIS VERSE DOESN’T APPLY TO YOU...

LET ME ENLIGHTEN YOU: POVERTY IS NOT LIMITED TO MONEY!

EBENEEZER SCROOGE HAD ALL THE MONEY ANYONE COULD DESIRE, AND YET, HE WAS THE POOREST MAN IN TOWN...

NOT ONLY IS POVERTY NOT LIMITED TO MONEY, IT’S ALSO NOT LIMITED COMPANY.

YOUR SOCIAL AND FAMILIAL LIVES MAY ENCOMPASS A LOT OF PEOPLE. BUT YOU DON’T REALIZE WHAT THESE FOLKS MAY REALLY THINK OF YOU:

GOT DOG HE’S STINGY. OOOWEE, SHE’S CHEAP.

IT AIN’T ABOUT STEWARDSHIP, IT’S ABOUT YOUR DISTRUST IN GOD’S ABILITY TO REPLENISH.

YOU’VE GOT YOUR WHOLE FAMILY THINKING YOU’RE WISE, WHEN YOU’RE REALLY WORRIED!

YOU WITHHOLD (SAYS THE TEXT) WHAT IS RIGHT…RIGHT TO GIVE, THAT IS.

AND AS A CONSEQUENCE, YOU WILL ONLY BECOME POOR.

NOW THIS TYPE OF MESSAGE MAY NOT RESONATE WITH EVERYONE (OR THE ONE WHO IS REALLY DISILLUSIONED IN THEIR FINANCES). SOME OF US ARE SO ENTRENCHED IN STINGINESS, WHERE ANYONE WHO SPEAKS ON MONEY IS JUST TRYING TO GET IN THEIR BANK ACCOUNT (ESPECIALLY THE PREACHER).

BELOVED, I’M JUST THE MESSENGER:

GIVERS GAIN

MISERS MISS

Tony Evans Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More Than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Giving, Priority Of)

GIVING, PRIORITY OF

A PREACHER out in the country was testing out one of his rich members. John was a farmer and the preacher asked him, “John, if you had 100 pigs, would you give 25 to God?”“Yes, Pastor, I would.”“John, if you had 20 pigs, would you give 5 to God?”“Absolutely, Pastor.”“John, if you had two pigs, would you give one to God?”“Preacher, cut that out! You know I only have two pigs!”As long as we’re being hypothetical, we’ll be generous, but once God asks us what we’re going to do with what we have in our hands, we have a problem.354[Giving; Sacrifice]Luke 16:10