Speaker 1: Corinthians, chapter 9, 2 Corinthians 9,.
Speaker 1: How many of you would say I don't have a very good memory?
Speaker 1: I do not have a very good memory, okay.
Speaker 1: How many of you would say I used to have a decent memory, but now it's kind of low, okay, okay, well, so what I'm going to do is I think you guys probably have a better memory than you think you do.
Speaker 1: Last week, we started this new series.
Speaker 1: It's called Resist.
Speaker 1: It's called Resist and this series is all about resisting selfishness and let's see if you can remember and embracing selflessness.
Speaker 1: Let's go Air high five to everybody.
Speaker 1: Let's go.
Speaker 1: You guys got it.
Speaker 1: That's good.
Speaker 1: It's all about resisting selfishness and embracing selflessness, and here's what we're doing.
Speaker 1: We're learning one principle each week of the series that will allow us to resist selfishness, and last week we learned a principle.
Speaker 1: Before we put it up on the screen, does anybody have good memory and remember what last week's principle was?
Speaker 1: Man, some of you are checking your notes.
Speaker 1: You're like what is it?
Speaker 1: Selfishness?
Speaker 1: It was about selfishness.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 1: It was about that.
Speaker 1: And the principle is that God is the owner and we are his.
Speaker 1: You guys knew that God's the owner, he's that we're his stewards.
Speaker 1: So God owns everything and he has put our time and our talents and our treasure in our hand, but really they're not ours, they're his.
Speaker 1: So, as stewards, we ask ourselves God, what do you want me to do with what you've given me?
Speaker 1: Now, today's principle is a little counterintuitive.
Speaker 1: Something that maybe you haven't thought about but it's a biblical principle and it's this is that giving isn't just for others.
Speaker 1: Giving is for you.
Speaker 1: Hold on hold, on hold, on hold on Nate.
Speaker 1: What do you mean?
Speaker 1: Giving isn't just for others, it's for me.
Speaker 1: When I give, it's for them.
Speaker 1: Let me give you an example.
Speaker 1: At the end of a service, I make my way out to the lobby and I grab a box the treasure chest and the kids love to come up to me after the service and get a piece of candy from the treasure chest.
Speaker 1: The kids enjoy that and the kids at heart enjoy doing that too.
Speaker 1: I see some of you out there, okay, and whenever the kids will go and get a piece of candy from the treasure chest, mom or dad will say something like tell Pastor Nate thank you, or what do you say?
Speaker 1: And the reason why you tell your kids to say thank you is not because you're like.
Speaker 1: And if Pastor Nate doesn't hear thank you, he's going to lose some sleep tonight.
Speaker 1: I mean, for Pastor Nate's emotional well-being and sense of self, he needs my five-year-old to say thank you.
Speaker 1: It's not why you want them to say thank you because you want them to be thankful.
Speaker 1: So them saying thank you isn't about me, but about who you want them to be.
Speaker 1: And you know that God's plan for your life isn't so much something you do, but someone you become.
Speaker 1: Some of us, we think that God wants me to do all these things.
Speaker 1: No, god wants you to become someone.
Speaker 1: Check out this verse.
Speaker 1: I don't know if you've seen it.
Speaker 1: It's in Romans 8, verse 29.
Speaker 1: It says for those he, this is God who he foreknew.
Speaker 1: He also predestined this is what he wants you to do to be conformed, to be shaped, to be molded to the image of his.
Speaker 1: What's that last word?
Speaker 1: The image of his son.
Speaker 1: Could somebody tell me who is God's son?
Speaker 1: It is Jesus.
Speaker 1: So he wants your life.
Speaker 1: He wants you to be like Jesus.
Speaker 1: That's the type of person he wants you to become.
Speaker 1: So, friend, hear this, hear this, hear this, hear this.
Speaker 1: When you give up your time to listen to a hurting friend, when you learn to serve and give up your time and your talent and your skills, when you learn to be generous with your resources, your financial resources, and live open-handed, you are becoming more selfless and more like Jesus.
Speaker 1: This is why giving isn't just for others, it's for you.
Speaker 1: Now maybe you're here and you're newer to Christianity.
Speaker 1: You're kind of checking things out.
Speaker 1: I want you to know that, as Jesus followers, when we give of our time, our treasure and our talent, everything we give is in response to what God has already given us, that God has given everything to us in the gospel, in Jesus coming and dying on the cross for us.
Speaker 1: So everything that we give is just in response to what he's given us.
Speaker 1: And while giving is an advanced Christian growth principle, what I want you to know, if you're newer to faith and you're newer to Christianity, is you need to know it's not about what you give.
Speaker 1: I want you to know it's about what God has given you, and that's his son by dying on the cross for you.
Speaker 1: So Jesus came and died for you because of our sin.
Speaker 1: Because of our sin, we are separated from God for all eternity in a place the scripture says is hell.
Speaker 1: But Jesus came and took our place and died in our place.
Speaker 1: And when we put our trust in him, we have salvation, we are saved.
Speaker 1: And if you've never made that decision today, I hope you will make that decision.
Speaker 1: And this leads us into 2 Corinthians, chapter number 9, where Paul is writing to some Jesus followers encouraging them to be generous.
Speaker 1: And he's trying to spur them on to be generous.
Speaker 1: And he does it in two ways.
Speaker 1: It's kind of interesting One.
Speaker 1: He uses a farming analogy.
Speaker 1: He's like I'm going to give you this farming analogy.
Speaker 1: And then he gives them a promise from God, because, because, because, because giving isn't just for others, it's for you.
Speaker 1: Now we're going to go to a place in scripture called Corinthians, corinthians, 2 Corinthians.
Speaker 1: It's in the city of Corinth.
Speaker 1: Everybody say the word Corinth, ready Corinth.
Speaker 1: Okay, we got a map.
Speaker 1: I want to show you, guys where Corinth is at.
Speaker 1: Corinth is in modern day Greece.
Speaker 1: Okay, this is where Greece would be at.
Speaker 1: So just to the left over there, if the map extended, it would be Italy.
Speaker 1: So down here would be the Mediterranean Sea.
Speaker 1: So this is modern day Greece.
Speaker 1: Now you see Corinth right there in the middle, to the right of it's Athens, down below Corinth.
Speaker 1: It's not on the map there but would be the city of Sparta.
Speaker 1: You guys ever watched a war movie with, like, the Spartans, sparta?
Speaker 1: You guys seen those right?
Speaker 1: Here's what's kind of cool If Athens and Sparta were battling, they would go right through Corinth, like they would have to go through the city of Corinth and you can actually go to the remains of the city of Corinth.
Speaker 1: So there's a couple pictures I want to show you guys of what the remains of ancient city of Corinth looks like.
Speaker 1: So Paul is writing to people at this place and this is what he says to the Jesus followers at Corinth in verse number one of 2 Corinthians 9.
Speaker 1: If you're ready, would you say, amen, let's go.
Speaker 1: Amen, hey, it's a little warm in here.
Speaker 1: We good?
Speaker 1: Hey, I'll say this too.
Speaker 1: Isn't it cool?
Speaker 1: I know it's kind of tight in here, but isn't it so cool to see so many new people God's bringing to our church family and so many new people coming.
Speaker 1: That's good, right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's right, right.
Speaker 1: These are good problems to have.
Speaker 1: Hey, third service coming one day.
Speaker 1: Okay, here we go.
Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 9, verse 1.
Speaker 1: Maybe sooner rather than later.
Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 9, verse 1.
Speaker 1: It says now, concerning the ministry to the saints.
Speaker 1: It is unnecessary for me to write to you.
Speaker 1: So, concerning the ministry to the saints, this is this gift, this is this financial gift that they're going to give, because the context of the passage is there were some Jesus followers in Jerusalem that were having some really hard times and the people at Corinth said we're going to give a gift to help out these people.
Speaker 1: So, concerning the financial gift you're going to give to help out these people, it's unnecessary for me to write to you.
Speaker 1: Paul's like I don't need to write to you because you already said you were going to give.
Speaker 1: In fact, verse 2 tells them they had an excitement level about giving.
Speaker 1: He says I know your eagerness, I boast about you to the Macedonians.
Speaker 1: A KI has been ready since last year, ready to do what, ready to give, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.
Speaker 1: So if we go back to the map on here, what we can see is we can see Macedonia at the top.
Speaker 1: Macedonia is a region there.
Speaker 1: You see, corinth is in another region of Aki.
Speaker 1: So Paul says I've talked to the Macedonians and I've let them know about your zeal and about what you're doing, and now you've stirred these people up, they want to give.
Speaker 1: But I'm sending verse 3, the brothers, so that our boasting about you in this matter would not prevent thee, so that you would be ready, just as I said.
Speaker 1: Have you ever maybe said that you were going to do something and maybe didn't follow through?
Speaker 1: Or maybe you knew somebody that somebody said they were going to do something and didn't follow through?
Speaker 1: Paul says here, he's like hey, I don't want my words to be proven empty because we said that this was going to be happening, that you're going to give.
Speaker 1: So I want you just to be ready, because in verse 4, otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and they find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be put to shame in that situation.
Speaker 1: Isn't it kind of like shameful?
Speaker 1: Maybe you say you're going to do something and kind of forget to do something or kind of don't do it.
Speaker 1: Paul says hey, we don't want you to be put to shame because you've said you're gonna give.
Speaker 1: I told these people you're gonna give when they come.
Speaker 1: We don't want them to be like you said this what's going on, bro?
Speaker 1: Like, be ready guys.
Speaker 1: Therefore, verse five I consider it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.
Speaker 1: So I want you to be ready so when I come to give, so when you come to give, it's not like you have to be forced to give, you have to be you're like you need to give right now.
Speaker 1: Like no, like that's not the heart in this.
Speaker 1: I don't want you to give grudgingly.
Speaker 1: I want you to give a generous gift and then he's going to communicate with them what God does in and for those that live open-handed, those that are generous, because giving isn't just about others, it's for us.
Speaker 1: He says in verse 5, he says this he says in verse 5, he says this.
Speaker 1: He says verse 6, he says the point is this the person who sows sparingly will also reap let's say it together will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generous.
Speaker 1: Interesting analogy Talks about farming.
Speaker 1: It's because these people, they understood this.
Speaker 1: He tells them about this principle of sowing and reaping.
Speaker 1: Now I got to say this Sowing and reaping is not karma.
Speaker 1: Who's ever heard karma?
Speaker 1: You guys have heard karma right.
Speaker 1: It's like somebody does something to hurt you.
Speaker 1: You're like karma's going to get them.
Speaker 1: Just wait, karma is, I'm not going to say Karma's going to get them.
Speaker 1: Okay, karma, by its actual definition, is not biblical, because karma says your future is 100% determined by your current actions 100%.
Speaker 1: You think about this Jesus.
Speaker 1: He lived a perfect life but he died a criminal's death.
Speaker 1: And also I'm really thankful that karma is not biblical because I did all the sinning and Jesus gave his life and did all the forgiving, so now I'm forgiven.
Speaker 1: So, while karma is not biblical, paul is teaching that life is connected, that there's this connection in life, and he gives a farming illustration to communicate the connection of life and specifically when it comes to our generosity.
Speaker 1: So I actually brought something to our church gathering today.
Speaker 1: I brought some watermelon seeds.
Speaker 1: Who likes watermelon in the room?
Speaker 1: Oh yes, oh yes, watermelon.
Speaker 1: Watermelon's amazing.
Speaker 1: Now sometimes you get the watermelon that doesn't have that has the seeds.
Speaker 1: I like getting the watermelon that doesn't have the seeds because I was told as a kid, when it came to watermelons, that had seeds.
Speaker 1: If you she's with me, because Sandra's with me If you eat a watermelon seed and the watermelon seed goes down.
Speaker 1: Some of you know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: You can have a watermelon grow in you.
Speaker 1: As a kid I was traumatized in you as a kid.
Speaker 1: I was traumatized.
Speaker 1: What do you mean?
Speaker 1: And you know I'm eating my watermelon.
Speaker 1: I'm like I think I just ate a watermelon seed.
Speaker 1: Do I need to go to the hospital, mom?
Speaker 1: Thankfully my mom was gracious and kind.
Speaker 1: It's like no, you're just a naive little pump.
Speaker 1: No, she didn't say that.
Speaker 1: God, watermelon seeds.
Speaker 1: Watermelon's great, I know.
Speaker 1: I'm also curious how many of you guys you like to grow things?
Speaker 1: Maybe you're a gardener?
Speaker 1: You got it Okay.
Speaker 1: Gardeners like to grow things like plants.
Speaker 1: Okay, how many of you?
Speaker 1: When a plant comes to your house, it's like a death sentence on that plant's life.
Speaker 1: Right, you have the spiritual gift of killing plants.
Speaker 1: You have that spiritual gift.
Speaker 1: Anybody in the room like that?
Speaker 1: Yes, moment of prayer.
Speaker 1: Come forward.
Speaker 1: Here we go.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 1: So planting we know some things about planting.
Speaker 1: We know there's kind of like some laws about planting, like sowing and reaping planting.
Speaker 1: But no, there's kind of like some laws about planting of, like sowing and reaping, Like here's one that I really don't like, but it's just factual is that the harvest of a plant comes later than the planting.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: So if you plant a seed, it's going to take some time for that seed to produce some fruit and to grow.
Speaker 1: Now, if you're like me, I can be a little bit impatient at times.
Speaker 1: Anybody else like me?
Speaker 1: Yes, okay, all right, thank you.
Speaker 1: It's like I see I plant something.
Speaker 1: I'm like the next day, I'm like coming out there, do I see something?
Speaker 1: Is that?
Speaker 1: No, bro, you're just really impatient, but I don't think it's my fault, because we live in 2024, and we have Uber Eats and we have the microwave and we have Amazon Prime.
Speaker 1: And if my package is not delivered within 24 hours, what is wrong?
Speaker 1: Just kidding, we can be impatient, but the thing about planting and sowing is that the harvest comes later than the planting comes later than the planting.
Speaker 1: Now, some of us I want to talk to some of us for a minute right now Some of you are frustrated in your spiritual life because you have been sowing and you have been trying to be faithful and you're like God, where are you?
Speaker 1: I've been sowing, I've been trying to be faithful to you and it's causing some of us to have doubts, to think man, maybe I'm just going to walk away.
Speaker 1: Can I say you need to endure because the harvest is coming, but it always comes later than the planting.
Speaker 1: It always comes later than the planting.
Speaker 1: It always comes down the road and some of us are in a place right now in our lives where we're like I don't know, god, what's happening.
Speaker 1: The harvest comes later and God has a harvest for some of your lives.
Speaker 1: God has a harvest for some of your families.
Speaker 1: God wants to break some generational dysfunction in your life.
Speaker 1: But you got to be faithful.
Speaker 1: Can I get an amen in the house?
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: The harvest comes later than the planting and the harvest is greater than the planting.
Speaker 1: So if I plant one of these seeds and a watermelon comes up I don't know how many seeds are in that watermelon, but it's a lot and if that thing has another watermelon, another watermelon for you know it.
Speaker 1: You got I don't know thousands, maybe more than that.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: All these and it came from one, and the harvest is always later but the harvest is always greater.
Speaker 1: So I want to encourage some of you guys, especially in this area that I mean Paul's talking about giving right here.
Speaker 1: I want to encourage you with this is that God talks about.
Speaker 1: If you will.
Speaker 1: Paul's saying if you will plant sparingly, you'll reap sparingly, but if you'll plant, if you'll sow generously, you'll reap generously.
Speaker 1: Like there's this text of scripture that, honestly, is hard for me, but it's in Proverbs, chapter three, and this is what it says, talking about this.
Speaker 1: It says honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest.
Speaker 1: What's the next word?
Speaker 1: It says then Okay, start again.
Speaker 1: What's the next word?
Speaker 1: It is then Okay, so if I honor God, then what's going to happen?
Speaker 1: Then my barns will be completely filled and your vats will overflow with new wine.
Speaker 1: Here's what I want.
Speaker 1: I wish the verse was reversed.
Speaker 1: I wish it would be like God will fill my barns completely, my vats will overflow, and then I'll honor the Lord, and then I'll give, and then I'll do what I know I should do.
Speaker 1: But this is what God says.
Speaker 1: God says if you trust me, then watch what I can do.
Speaker 1: Now I want to illustrate this as far as a way that sometimes I see things and maybe you see things, so I got something in my wallet.
Speaker 1: This is two visual illustrations in one Sunday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, two.
Speaker 1: You guys are about to see how rich.
Speaker 1: I am Y'all ready, because you know.
Speaker 1: I mean, if you're a pastor, of course you're rich.
Speaker 1: That was a joke.
Speaker 1: Okay, pastors, don't get into the ministry for money, okay, anyways.
Speaker 1: So I have some $1 bills.
Speaker 1: Everybody say, ooh, I have 10 $1 bills.
Speaker 1: Everybody say, ah, this will buy me a cheeseburger, maybe not not like a double, but like a single.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying From in and out not a good cheeseburger.
Speaker 1: So I got, I got all this and I think sometimes what we do is is we look, we have.
Speaker 1: This represents what we have, our resources, that we have, and unfortunately, because we live in California, things ain't cheap up in here y'all.
Speaker 1: So we think, all right, I got to pay for my rent, got to pay for my mortgage.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean If I got 10, like that's two this is California, bro at least like three.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: I got a.
Speaker 1: I got my electricity bill.
Speaker 1: Were y'all feeling your electricity bill this summer?
Speaker 1: Come on, ouch, that's the word.
Speaker 1: Right, I'm still recovering from that, you know.
Speaker 1: Got your electricity bill, you got your water bill, so that's another one.
Speaker 1: You got your got those crazy insurance insurance rates.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean Like insurance.
Speaker 1: You got health insurance.
Speaker 1: You got like car insurance.
Speaker 1: You got insurance for insurance, for insurance.
Speaker 1: It seems like you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: I also watched a commercial the other day.
Speaker 1: It was like your health insurance isn't enough, get supplement.
Speaker 1: I'm like, give me a break, y'all.
Speaker 1: You know that's more right there.
Speaker 1: You got your car payment right.
Speaker 1: You got to drive.
Speaker 1: You got your car payment.
Speaker 1: This is like the most important one right here.
Speaker 1: Food Got to have Chipotle Got to have an occasional sushi run.
Speaker 1: Any sushi lovers in the house?
Speaker 1: My people, my people, my people gotta do that.
Speaker 1: So I do that.
Speaker 1: And just food in general, super expensive.
Speaker 1: You know, it's like you spend thirty dollars.
Speaker 1: You have like a half a bag of groceries, right, it's got a bowl of soup or something.
Speaker 1: I got that.
Speaker 1: And oh, oh, my gosh, how could I forget?
Speaker 1: How could I forget about my hobbies and my self-care?
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: I mean, you got a fishing hobby.
Speaker 1: Let's be honest about this fishing hobby.
Speaker 1: Like you got it yes, yes, I see you Like you got to go get that new fishing rod because it's on sale right now.
Speaker 1: Like you got to do it.
Speaker 1: You know, you got your hobbies.
Speaker 1: You got your self-care.
Speaker 1: You got to get the mani and the pedis.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Can I get an amen to mani pedi people?
Speaker 1: You know, right, some of you guys you're ashamed, but you know that hits you right?
Speaker 1: No judgment, no judgment at all.
Speaker 1: I'm you got, oh, I forgot.
Speaker 1: Sometimes you got to get some things on Amazon and you went to get a couple things and, before you know it, like that's like half your paycheck right there.
Speaker 1: Oh, last thing, last thing, last thing I forgot Coffee.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true, we'll throw that in with the food, though.
Speaker 1: Kids, oh my gosh, yeah, kids, they ain't cheap, man, kids expensive.
Speaker 1: Throw some kids there.
Speaker 1: Now we're like I ain't got nothing left.
Speaker 1: Where's my credit card at?
Speaker 1: I got to pay for all those subscriptions.
Speaker 1: I got to pay for Hulu.
Speaker 1: I got to pay for Disney+, I got to pay for Netflix, somebody.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
Speaker 1: So then this is what we do.
Speaker 1: We think, man, god, I was going to give to you, but I got all this stuff over here.
Speaker 1: And then we get to the next month and it's like the exact same thing.
Speaker 1: I got to pay for rent, I got to pay for kids, I got to pay for another membership.
Speaker 1: I got to pay for this.
Speaker 1: I got to pay for my direct TV.
Speaker 1: I got to.
Speaker 1: It's like okay God, okay God, okay God.
Speaker 1: Now this is hard because we actually love God.
Speaker 1: Like you love God, but giving is like so hard because of this reality.
Speaker 1: Like because things are so expensive.
Speaker 1: Like, giving is hard for me at times.
Speaker 1: Now, some of you guys think I'm a pastor.
Speaker 1: When I wake up, I arise and the angels are singing over me.
Speaker 1: No, I'm like ugh.
Speaker 1: Like this is hard.
Speaker 1: But here's what I've learned Is that God can do more with 90%.
Speaker 1: Then you can do with 100%.
Speaker 1: God's math is different than our math and when we say, god, this is what I'm going to do, I'm going to put you first in this area.
Speaker 1: God will take this and multiply this in his hands in ways you couldn't do it when it was all in your hands.
Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1: Some of y'all right now are like okay, sounds like a preacher talk.
Speaker 1: You have to experience this.
Speaker 1: You have to experience the joy that comes with seeing God provide in ways that only he can provide.
Speaker 1: Now here's the reality of this Like because it's so difficult, like for me, for us, what I've had to do is I've had to say maybe I'm just sharing my own lack of spirituality and lack of godliness with you guys this morning.
Speaker 1: But what I've had to do is I've had to go on SassoonChurchcom and set up recurring giving so it like comes out every month so I could just give to God first, because I can have a tendency of saying I don't know, because I need to do this over here, and I have set this up so I can put God first in my finances.
Speaker 1: And I've learned that when we put God first, he takes care of all the rest.
Speaker 1: Here's the third principle.
Speaker 1: And then I got to finish up with these rest of these verses.
Speaker 1: It's this it's that we only harvest when we persevere.
Speaker 1: So we got to be faithful, we got to persevere.
Speaker 1: We can't give up.
Speaker 1: I want to read the rest of the text and we'll be done.
Speaker 1: It says in verse number seven Give me like five minutes, guys, because this is like the best part, I promise All right.
Speaker 1: It says verse seven.
Speaker 1: It says each person.
Speaker 1: I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: Thank you, somebody.
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 1: Each person should do as he's decided in his heart, not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a joyful giver.
Speaker 1: God loves, it says, a cheerful giver.
Speaker 1: This word cheerful means joyful.
Speaker 1: There's joy in knowing you're obeying God.
Speaker 1: There's joy in knowing that when you give, the kingdom of God's expanding.
Speaker 1: There's joy in knowing that because of your giving, there's like eight, nine people, whatever it is getting baptized today.
Speaker 1: There's joy in knowing that.
Speaker 1: And then, in verse eight, he gives us a promise.
Speaker 1: He says God is able to make every grace overflow to you so that in every way, always having what's the next three words?
Speaker 1: Let's say it together Everything I wish, it said, everything you want, because I got some wants Y'all know Everything you need so you may excel in every good work.
Speaker 1: Because, as it is written, he distributed freely, he gave to the poor.
Speaker 1: His righteousness endures forever.
Speaker 1: He's leaning back to a text of what God's already done.
Speaker 1: Now, the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for the food will also multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Speaker 1: God can multiply things.
Speaker 1: And in verse 11, he says this he gives this promise.
Speaker 1: You will be enriched.
Speaker 1: In what are those two words?
Speaker 1: In every way, for all generosity which produces thanksgiving to God through us, you'll be enriched.
Speaker 1: Number two there's a promise of an enriched life to the generous.
Speaker 1: God says, for those that live open-handed.
Speaker 1: Those that say God, I want to give to your kingdom.
Speaker 1: For those that say, god, I want you to be Lord of my finances.
Speaker 1: There's an enriched life now.
Speaker 1: Because we're Americans, we often equate in a rich life with money and sometimes God does bless us financially.
Speaker 1: But if you look at the New Testament, the word blessed is used over a hundred times in New Testament.
Speaker 1: The word blessed is used over a hundred times in the New Testament and not one time does it equate to material wealth.
Speaker 1: Sometimes God blesses us in other ways.
Speaker 1: Sometimes God blesses us by giving us the internal peace and contentment that comes from truly trusting God, truly trusting God.
Speaker 1: Sometimes God gives us an enriched life by seeing how God is multiplying our finances and multiplying our giving.
Speaker 1: Our giving often is producing fruit in all kinds of ways.
Speaker 1: Sometimes an enriched life is not allowing our money to have a stronghold on our hearts.
Speaker 1: It's not allowing our money to have a stronghold on our hearts and it's like I'm not in the grip of greed.
Speaker 1: Sometimes an enriched life is allowing other people around you to be impacted by your generosity.
Speaker 1: This is my story.
Speaker 1: When I grew up, my parents modeled generosity, even when they didn't have a lot of resources, like my dad has told me stories when they were first married, like he's eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch because like that's all he could do.
Speaker 1: And my parents were never.
Speaker 1: They were never the kind that were showy about what they gave or showy about their generosity.
Speaker 1: Or like, hey, we're writing this check.
Speaker 1: This is back in the day-day when people wrote checks all the time.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
Speaker 1: We're writing this check.
Speaker 1: Hey, nate, come look at it.
Speaker 1: It wasn't like that, but I knew that if there was a need that they would try to meet it, somebody had.
Speaker 1: I knew that they were the first person to write that check.
Speaker 1: I knew they were the first person to look out for somebody and try to help them.
Speaker 1: No-transcript, I knew that was what they did.
Speaker 1: They weren't showy about it and they even were willing to live a lesser lifestyle so they could have a generous life, live a lesser lifestyle so they could have a generous life.
Speaker 1: And at 35 years old, I look back on the way that shaped me growing up, on the way that taught me that God provides, on the way that showed me what it looks like to be generous, in a way that they didn't preach a sermon about generosity to me, but they lived a sermon about generosity, and a sermon lived is always more powerful than a sermon preached.
Speaker 1: And because they did that, god has met their needs and they lived an enriched life and they have joy in their life and I'm sitting here now as somebody that's like seeing their generosity and now it has taught me to live open-handedly.
Speaker 1: And it could be that there are people around you that you can influence in ways you don't even know, but because they see your generosity and it gives you an enriched life to knowing you had an impact on them.
Speaker 1: Rich life to knowing you had an impact on them.
Speaker 1: So I want to end all this on a question, and it's a hard question, it's not an easy question, it's an uncomfortable question and the question is will you trust God's promises when it comes to your finances?
Speaker 1: Will you trust him?
Speaker 1: I know Even me as the pastor.
Speaker 1: I sit here and I'm like I don't know.
Speaker 1: I get it, but if God promises that he'll give us an enriched life, will we take God on this promise?
Speaker 1: For some of us, this is what this practically means.
Speaker 1: It means learn to give something consistently.
Speaker 1: For some of us, you already give something consistently.
Speaker 1: But maybe you should go up 1% or 2% in what you give.
Speaker 1: For some of you maybe it's get to that 10% level where you take that step of faith.
Speaker 1: I don't know where you are.
Speaker 1: Maybe you're already at that 10% and you just need to reaffirm in your heart God, I'm gonna continue to trust you in my finances because it's been tested.
Speaker 1: Maybe God has given you the gift of generosity and God has given you the gift of generosity and God has put on your heart to give extravagantly to the kingdom of God I'm not talking about this church, wherever.
Speaker 1: Maybe God's doing that in your heart right now.
Speaker 1: Would you trust God when it comes to his promises?
Speaker 1: And it's easy to trust God with his promises when it doesn't require a sacrifice, but when it requires a sacrifice, it's challenging.
Speaker 1: It's challenging and when we take God up on his promises, we'll experience this principle that giving isn't just for others but it's for you, and you'll see what God can do through your giving and you will see your life be enriched because of it.
Speaker 1: Let me pray for you.