Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning church

Today, we get to continue on our Flourish

Based on John chapter 15, we are continuing to look at spiritual practices that help us to remain in Christ and live a life that flourishes in connection to him.

Another word for flourish might be grow, or thrive.

We want to thrive in our relationship with Christ.

Today, I’m honored to be sharing with you about the spiritual practice of Generosity and what scripture reveals about it’s impact on our lives as believers in Christ.

Before we jump specifically into generosity, I want to set the table a little bit for talking about spiritual practices and why they impact our lives so immensely.

Why they help us flourish.

Cause, you see, there is something unique about today’s topic that we should talk about first.

That is that generosity is probably the most tangible spiritual practice that will be talked about in this series.

What I mean is that generosity is often easy to see and measure as it takes place.

And this isn’t always the case for spiritual practices.

Prayer, for example, can be difficult to see the effects of.

Immediately and maybe even long term.

The connection of how a prayer impacts our world might not always be clear.

Generosity on the other hand, at least from our view as humans, is much more easy to see and to measure its impact.

If you give money to a neighbor in need, you can then watch them go and use that money to pay their bills, or buy the food they lack.

If you are generous with time and work and help your neighbor paint their house, your work is measurable and the result is real, a painted house and a grateful neighbor.

Or maybe you help someone elderly straining to load their groceries into their car.

It doesn’t take much to see some of the positive impacts that generosity can have on our world.

Why do I start her?

Because before we jump into this concept of generosity, this often tangible spiritual practice, we have to make sure that we know that it is in no way less spiritual than the other spiritual practices.

Yes, we may see the result as you give them the cash they need for food.

You can see the work you do helping your neighbor paint his house.

But we mustn't miss the Spiritual aspect of this practice.

And this is true because when we function generously in response to who we are in Christ, there is actually more going on then what meets the eye.

And this is true because as Christians, we live and ago about our lives, filled with and moved by the Holy Spirit.

Scripture tells us

We aren’t just friends of Christ who are hoping to fit in with His crew.

God doesn’t say go and be generous to others because He wants some extra goodness sprinkled on His own good works.

No. God has chosen that so many of His blessings on this earth, His moving throughout this world, full of spiritual influence, will be done through His people as they obey His Word.

And He does this in believers through the work of His Spirit.

And that means something about the actions we take in response to the Gospel.

When we read these passages, hear this practices and go and do them, when we obey the Word of God… something bigger happens.

Cause you see..

If we believe in the Holy Spirit, then we must also believe that obedience to God's Word has a spiritual effect.

Alright.

*repeat*

Cause, the Holy Spirit doesn’t enter into us as believers cause He needed a place to stay.

No, God is in relationship with us as His Spirit dwells in us, and through His Spirit in us, He is working through our obedience.

And in the obedience to generosity, that spiritual effect isn’t just the tangible gift received by those we are generous to.

It’s more.

God is doing His transforming and spiritual work in those receiving the generosity, but just as much, He is transforming us as well, to look more like Him.

2 Corinthians 3:17–18 (CSB)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Our growth in Christ through spiritual practices is a spiritual event.

And it’s important to see here also that the impact isn’t by our own power.

Even as we are obedient in generosity, seeing tangible actions and reactions, we must remember that the most important work is the spiritual work being done in us and in others by the Spirit.

Gods work being done.

That’s why we must take so seriously the development of our connection to God by remaining in Him and Him in us; because He loves to do His work in and through us by being in relationship with us and leading us to obedience to His Word.

John 15:5 (CSB)

I am the vine; you are the branches.

The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

And friends, how amazing that God has chosen that we are to take part in His work in our own lives.

That God wants fruit to come from the branches, us.

Not because He needs us, but because He wants us, involved in His work, in this world as well as in our own hearts.

Generosity hasn’t always been so spiritual for me in life though.

I didn’t always understand it like this.

For many years of my life, I didn’t look to scripture for my understanding of Christian generosity.

I just based it on what I presumed was Christian generosity.

Things I saw others do, or just following my gut reaction.

It’s always a slippery slope when we try to learn about Gods Word without scripture as our guide.

And my own interpretation I remember one relationship where it didn’t go as it should have.

In high school and a few years after, I had a buddy I hung out with a lot.

He was always bumming money, asking for loans, taking stuff the checkout and then saying “I forgot my wallet”.

Helping him out wasn’t much thought at first, just, yeah, I got you man.

I’ll pay.

Eventually though, I started to see myself as someone who was generous.

Helping the needy friend.

It turned into pride.

I remember thinking when I’d gotten a good paycheck and some other good things all in the same day and thinking, “I must be reaping the reward for being such a great giver to my friend over here.”

Before I knew it, pride took over.

And what did the generous, awesome, holier than though giver eventually realize, my friend needed to pay me back.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should never get paid back if you loan someone something.

But, a few years later, I was sitting there one day, remembering how generous I was to him, and that I had honored God with my giving and thinking that must have been why certain blessings had come my way.

And then I remembered my pride, and making him pay me back.

Guys, that wasn’t Christ like generosity.

My generosity turned to pride, and that pride had entitlement and a desire to get what I thought I deserved.

I’m sure you wouldn’t be surprised to learn we didn’t remain friends long after my prideful collection of what I “deserved”.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I even bragged about my generosity towards him at times in our friendship.

Cause see, generosity as scripture instructs isn’t just giving things away.

Scripture doesn’t say, “Just make sure to put money into the salvation army bucket, don’t matter your heart or conviction.

Just give it away and get it over with”.

Friends, God cares too much about our hearts, and the hearts of others, for heartless giving to be what he’s about.

He knows there’s more problems in this world than money and time and human generosity can solve.

Getting the heart part wrong shows up in different ways with “Generosity.

You think about preachers that fly their personal jets to speak to a group of believers, promising financial blessing if you just give them a certain $ amount today.

Essentially preaching generosity towards their organization as a means for the listener to get rich or have all their problems fixed.

People being generous in hopes of burying their guilt and shame.

Instead of looking to the cross, they would rather just bury the bad feelings and hope that’s enough.

Or gifts that are given when a “you owe me” attached.

Or givers flaunting their giving of gifts, making sure that all around can see.

Each circumstance is different, and some of them even helped those receiving the gift.

But when we look to Gods purpose in this world, His purpose in calling us to obedience, we see that there is so much more.

When I was younger, pridefully “giving” to my friend, I wasn’t completely ignorant to the fact there was something missing.

I knew the Bible had more to say about this.

More to this generosity that I knew God was calling us to in scripture.

Eventually, I got to see it.

There was a young Christian couple I knew.