For three weeks, I have been speaking to you about God’s desire to bless your life! When I read the Bible about the experiences of people who lived close to God and with humble, obedient hearts, I find their lives to be deeply satisfying and lived with purpose. I’ve called this series, “Preparing to Prosper.” If you thought it was about growing rich or getting famous or possessing all your fantasies you know now, you guessed wrongly! I am urging you to living in a way that you are in position under the stream of God’s refreshing cascade of Spiritual water, so that your soul is refreshed. The Word says,
" Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." (Psalm 1, NIV)
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Generosity - loving people with our resources
When the Mega-Millions lottery prize climbs into the stratosphere, like it did a couple of weeks ago, with a prize of $370 million, I indulge in ridiculous escapist fantasies about what I could do with a sudden windfall of wealth of that magnitude. What would it be like to pay off the church mortgage, to be able to fund tuition for poor students, to support various ministries with gifts that would let them accomplish their mission? I think of dozens of ways that philanthropy could make a difference in the lives of people around me. It’s fun, but foolish!
Most of us think, ’if I had more, then I would be more generous.’ The truth is that most of us adjust our standard of living upward when we have more resources available to us. As our income grows, we discover all kinds of ’needs’ exist in our lives that must be satisfied - a larger home, a newer car, a vacation to an exotic location, higher quality clothing, and things like that. Generosity will not necessarily increase if more ’stuff’ is suddenly available to us. Generosity is an attitude that we can develop whether we are poor or rich by society’s standard. All of us have something that others need: be it love, acceptance, support, time, or a listening ear.
And here is why I am talking about this subject in this series which is about preparing to prosper. Those who choose to live generously, God says, “will be blessed in every way, and will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God!” (2 Corinthians 9:11, CEV)
Consider this - "The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."
(Proverbs 11:25, NLT)
Turn with me to a text commonly used in sermons designed to increase contributions, but that is not the way I’m reading it this morning. Rather I read it as a key text about preparing to enjoy the blessings of God.
TEXT - 2 Corinthians 9: 6-14
Before I read this passage, let me set it in context. It is written to the church in Corinth, one of the first churches that Paul planted, and one that had matured. The Corinthians enjoyed many blessings. It was in a city of considerable wealth, and we can infer from the letter that many of the Believers were enjoying prosperous lives. They had become more than a little self-satisfied and self-indulgent, even to the point of abusing the gifts of the Holy Spirit for their own pleasure and to impress each other with their ‘spirituality.’ So their spiritual father, Paul, sent them a couple of corrective letters that taught them about the proper way to receive God’s blessings, about the importance of humility, about practicing discipline in a loving way to produce pure lives, and ... as we see in our text today ... the importance of using their prosperity in a way that allows God to continue to bless them.
READ TEXT – Re-read v. 6
The law of sowing and reaping is a simple one in principle, If you plant a lot of seed you create the possibility of a large crop! Despite the simplicity of the principle, our sinful nature rebels against it. Sometimes all we can see is the risk that comes with putting the seed in the field. It is hard to part with what is in our possession, a sure thing, what we think we own. So, we are faced with a choice - hoard what we have and there is no harvest; or plant the seed and wait for the return that God promises.
In that passage there is another promise. READ v. 10-11
God is generous and He will increase your resources!
Almost 20 years ago, Stephen Covey published a book that has had a tremendous influence on the way I understand life. Yes, he is a Mormon, but his book captures many principles that are rooted in the Bible’s truths. The title is Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In that book, Mr. Covey mentions something called ‘an abundance mentality’ which he defines as the ‘paradigm that there is plenty out there for everybody!’
He goes on to write:
“Most people are deeply scripted in the Scarcity Mentality. They see life as having only so much, as though there is just one pie out there, and they think if someone gets a bigger piece of the pie, it means there is less for everyone else! People who think this way have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit - even with those who help in the production.
They have a very hard time being genuinely happy for the successes of other people - even members of their own families, close friends, and associates.... when others succeed, they perceive it as their own failure, because they think that only some people can be “A” students, so they think to ‘win’ actually means to ‘beat.’
The Abundance Mentality flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare. ... it is open to possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity. It takes personal joy in the uniqueness, growth and development in others.... victory is not understood as gaining advantage over other people, but rather in creating opportunities where all benefit from working together to accomplish things that no one could make happen on his own.”
Be honest with yourself and ask - which way of thinking is most characteristic of my life?
∙ Am I convinced that there is an abundance and therefore ready to generously share my life, my resources, with others? OR
∙ Am I convinced that the pie is limited and that it is important to own and protect my slice?
What makes us generous people?
Most basically, it is our experience of God and our faith in His promises that transforms us into generous, unselfish people. Covey is only paraphrasing the Bible when he writes, “the abundance mentality flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security.” The Bible makes this declaration - ‘we love because God first loved us.’ When we receive the grace gifts of God, when our sinfulness is forgiven and we know it is not because we deserve it, when we find the peace that passes understanding in our time of need - something clicks inside of us and we begin to realize that we can let down the defenses. God becomes our Father, and secure in Him, we begin to treat others with the same love we have found! It quickly becomes obvious to us that generosity is not just about our money! The principle is much more fundamental to life. It extends to our willingness to accept others who are different. It causes us to forgive those who wound us.
It effects the way we create teams to accomplish big tasks and the attitudes we have towards others with whom we work, live, and worship. So much of life is enriched by a liberal, generous spirit that comes from knowing the depth of God’s care, His love, and His grace!
Money is a good way to gauge your generosity. Taking a look at how you use your finances will reveal much about your value system. A person who is ungenerous with his money will be slow to forgive those who offend his honor, weak on sharing credit for success, and less successful at forming collaborative teams that work creatively.
There is a story about generosity found in the book of the Acts. It is about two preachers going to the Temple to pray. Their generosity is in inspiration!
READ Acts 3:1-8
Don’t lose touch with a major point of this story by focusing exclusively on the miracle! The fact that a crippled man was made whole is wonderful and usually becomes the thing we talk about in this account. However, there would have been no miracle without the willingness of Peter and John to be generous- taking note of a man’s need, getting involved, and offering to help him!
∙ What if those two preachers had pretended not to notice him, embarrassed by the fact that they were too poor to give him a dime?
∙ What if they had just pulled their pockets inside out to reveal their lack of resources and shrugged off his request?
But, they didn’t! A generosity of heart and spirit possessed them because they knew they had a Rich Father, so they drew on His account, and shared the power of the Spirit that they did have with the man.
And we can do the same. Wait! Don’t be so literal that you only read that story as indicating that we should be out healing people, though that could be what God wants you to do in a given situation. Don’t limit your faith in God! Evaluate your resources and go beyond your bank account. Then, adopt the attitude of Peter and John - "What I have I give you!"
What has God given you in abundance?
Hope, Love, Peace, Purpose, Eternal Life, Insight - are a few things that our Rich Father promises us. Understand the principles! Generosity allows God to pour His blessings into our lives as sure as those who plant more seed have a greater harvest; and, God blesses us not so we can build bigger storehouses, but so that we can bless others!
Let me tell you about two preachers - one who knew his blessings and blessed me, and one who was self-centered and stingy with his encouragement.
Ill. - When I was a very young man, just starting out in life, I encountered two preachers in the little town to which I believed that God had led me. One was a man who lived in grace, the other a pinched selfish soul! I was young, dumb, and somewhat naive. When I arrived in Gillette, WY, full of dreams about what God might do with me there, I went to visit one of those pastors, to offer my help. I wasn’t asking for a job, nor was I seeking a position. I just wanted to assist in whatever ways I could. He looked across his desk and told me that I was unwelcome in ‘his’ town. He growled, “Young man, if you try to start up a ministry here, I’ll see to it that you never work in an Assemblies of God church for the rest of your life!”
I left his office sad and angry.
The other man saw past my inexperience and welcomed me like a son. He gave me opportunities to teach
and minister. He took me along with him to breakfast with men from his church. He talked with me as a friend and mentor. In one short year, Dave Eggebraaten probably influenced my understanding of what it means to be a Christian, more than any person in life, other than my own father. His generosity of trust, time, advice, and confidence was an amazing testimony to his own security in God.
I want to close with this challenge –
A man named Moses started his life with every advantage, a royal upbringing, a good education, access to wealth. This prince of Egypt, who had been miraculously rescued from the waters by an Egyptian princess who raised him as her own son, was full of himself and ended up committing murder in a fit of rage when he saw a fellow Israelite being mistreated by a slave master. He became a fugitive and somehow ended up far from the culture, wealth, and power of Egypt. He lived for 40 years in the desert, eventually marrying a local girl, and becoming a shepherd for her father’s sheep.
One day, he saw a curious sight, a bush on fire, but without being consumed. Drawn in by curiosity, he found himself in the Presence of God, engaged in a conversation.
“Moses,” God said, “I still have plans for you. It’s time for my people to become a nation and to return to the Promised Land of their ancestor, Abraham. Moses offered all kinds of excuses why he was incapable of obedience! "I stutter. I’m a nobody. They’ll think I just made all this stuff up."
The Lord asked Moses a question that I want to leave with you today. "What is that in your hand?"
Moses was holding an ordinary shepherd’s staff, a stick of wood! But, God used that stick to shake up the court of Pharaoh, like a scepter of authority in Israel, and even to part the Red Sea! But, when all was said and done, Moses had to give what he had before God could use it to change the world.
∙ What is in your hand?
∙ What resources do you have?
When God asks you to share, do it generously and see what He can do with what you thought was nothing!
Want to know the blessings of God?
Be a generous giver - a person secure in His promises -liberal in every way!
And take the promise - "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." (Proverbs 11:25, NIV)
Amen
Jerry D. Scott copyright 2007
all rights reserved
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