Generous - Time

INTRO - GENEROSITY

Generosity is the quality of being kind, understanding, and not selfish : the quality of being generous especially means: willingness to give money and other valuable things to others.

Story of Cleto, Nadia, and Nick

The action of Generosity reveals how the giver truly feels about the recipient .

If I am generous, I release what I value to benefit someone else, meaning their happiness is more important to me than even the things that I value.

Generosity is a willing, loving release.

A beautiful picture of Generosity can be seen in Genesis Chapter 1.

Genesis 1:26-30 NLT

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.

God created us, and in His Generosity, gave us more than we could ever even know to ask for. He gave us life, Blessed us, and then gave us a kingdom.

His Generosity is evident from the VERY BEGINNING of time. It is a defining trait of our Father.

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Generosity is woven into the DNA of the Gospel - the foundation of our Faith.

John 3:16 says:

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Our God so generously released his one and only Son into the world, knowing that he would eventually die as the sacrifice for our sins, because He wants us to know Him, love Him, and be with Him.

Our Heavenly Father is Generous.

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Generosity is not seasonal.

Generosity is offered in seasons of abundance.

Generosity is offered in seasons of lack.

Jesus said it best in Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

Generosity is easy when you have everything you need.

Jesus make sit clear that Generosity means MORE when given from a place of lack.

Being Generous takes Faith.

For some reason, along the line somewhere we decided that Faith makes things easy, when in fact Faith DOES NOT make things easy, FAITH MAKES THINGS POSSIBLE. If God called you to do something that was easy, you wouldn’t need faith; in the dirt, in the grime, in the challenge, your faith is grown and the impossible is made possible.

It’s easy to give and release when we have more than enough; what’s hard is the generosity, the release that hurts - giving when there isn’t enough to give.

Paul talks about this exact effect in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. 3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

So Paul is writing about these churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea that are filled with people experiencing intense persecution because of their Faith in Jesus to the point of financial ruin, debt, physical harm, and pain - yet their reponse to knowing that the church in Jerusalem needed financial help and was experiencing intense lack, caused them, out of their lack, to give abundantly and joyfully in RICH GENEROSITY - far more than what they could afford. This caused shockwaves that shook the very foundation of the early church, leading to explosive Faith and growth.

Generosity was the conduit.

Generosity ignores lack.

Generosity is not seasonal.

Generosity is powerful.

Our God is generous, His example throughout time is Generous, so our reaction to His Generosity needs to be - GENEROSITY.

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Generous with our Time

Time has always been a thought lingering in the back of my head, and recently I was watching my daughter Romee, run around our living room, and it made me realize how much time had passed since she was born and how much she has grown. - It made me sad - I mean, I’m excited to experience my daughter at every stage of her life, but the ones that have passed are now gone. It makes every little moment matter more.

- It made every time she’s thrown curry, lunch meat, or oatmeal at our walls not matter.

- It made me not care about every time she’s dumped her water bottle out on our couch.

- It made me forget about the crayon marks on my laptop and the smell of a dirty diaper sitting on the counter because I’m so tired I forgot to throw it away.

- It made every moment I’ve ever been on my phone while she plays by herself sting a lot more.

- It made time matter more. More than it mattered before. It’s precious. And it’s always being spent and there’s nothing WE can do to stop it.

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Time is the ultimate equalizer: We all only have so much it, no matter how rich or poor you are, we all have a limited amount of time.

WE can’t make more, we can’t find more, it is a precious and limited resource.

Time is invaluable.

As we were talking about lack, God brought this to my attention - A lot of us lack time…we

1.) Fill up our schedules

2.) Are always busy

3.) Have a million things happening at once

4.) Never have enough time in the day

We lack…TIME

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God spoke to me as I was studying and I strongly heard this:

Give me what is valuable. Give me your time.

Give Me your time. Even in the lack. Generously give Me time that you don’t have.

The most precious time you can give God, is the time that you don’t have.

GIVE GENEROUSLY FROM YOUR LACK OF TIME.

Give God the most valuable part of your day, talk to Him, pray. Quiet the noise and seek Him when you don’t have the time.

Give generously.

Give your time generously to those around you.

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We are making a HUGE transition and need more help than ever. Nearly EVERY department at Generations Church needs volunteers. WE NEED YOUR HELP.

Release your time.

Release your plans.

Shift your schedule. Put Him first.

Serve at church.

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God spoke this to me and this is for a few people watching in this room, and some online as well, but God told me to tell you something:

If you will release your time to, I will redeem your time.

I will redeem what is impossible to redeem.

I will make a way where there is none, where all hope is lost.

You may think that you have wasted a huge chunk of your life living in sin or running from God, but release your time to Him, release your schedule to Him, release what is valuable to you and He will redeem what was lost. You will have the TIME BACK THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE AGAIN.

Sow Time. Reap Time.

The Bible says in Galatians 6:7

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.

Release your time to Him, plant the seed of Time, and He will redeem your time you thought you lost, He will bring a harvest of Time.

I want to end with this story that proves the fruit of generosity and the redemption of time.

Luke 19:2-9

There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. 8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” 9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Once a notorious Sinner - Redeemed to become the Financial source of hope for his community.

Once a thief, a liar, and a cheat - Redeemed to JOYFUL GIVER OF GENEROSITY.

GOD WILL REDEEM WHAT YOU RELEASE.

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Pray for Generosity, Generosity with Time, Redeemed TIme

Pray for Salvation

Heavenly Father, forgive me of all my sins. Make me brand new. I believe Jesus died for me and rose again so I could live for you. Fill me with your Spirit so I could know you, serve you, and follow you the rest of my life. My life is not my own—today I give it to you. Thank you for new life! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.