Sips from the Fountain
Learning to drink from Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water, isn’t as hard as I thought, especially when you just start with sips, and those will change everything.
Sips from the Fountain
Thrills, Romance, and Adventure… Living a Generous Life
Do you ever feel like life can get too complicated and maybe even overwhelming? Yeah, me too, and it's okay. My name's Martha Gano, and in this podcast we're going to talk about life, love, faith, family relationships, all kinds of things, and we're going to drink from what God wants to pour into us, one small sip at a time, because when it's the fountain of living water, small sips make all the difference. Sometimes it'll be just you and me, sometimes we'll have a friend join us. If we could have lunch together today, this is what I'd want to talk about. Hey, hey, hey everybody, and welcome back to the podcast. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving week. I know I did. I'm full of turkey and tryptophan and ready to move into the rest of the holiday season, but today is Giving Tuesday.
Martha Gano:I love Giving Tuesday. It's so appropriate that it's during this season of the year, right Like right after Thanksgiving and then during the Christmas season, which is where we celebrate the generosity of God that he sent his son to lay down his life to pay our debt, the one that he didn't owe. He gave his life to restore us to relationship with him, to repair a breach that he didn't create. I'm so grateful for such an incredible example of generosity and to be the recipient of it too, which brings me to us, to us and generosity. So when we think about following Jesus, about being like Christ, what does that mean when it comes to that generosity that is so abundant in the heart of God? Why is that important to him? Clearly, it's the model that he gives us. But why did he give us this as a model? I think so many times in my life in my past, I would say I've had a faulty view of God, where he tells me to do things or be things and makes demands in order to limit or control me. In fact, when he tells us something, it is 100% of the time for our good and because he loves us, and I think that's really important to have that mindset as we begin to talk about the topic of generosity.
Martha Gano:So, first of all, generosity protects us from the idolatry of being our own gods. I think there are so many ways to be our own gods, but one of the broadest paths, in my opinion, with flashing lights and neon signs, is the temptation to believe that money can give us what we want. It can keep us safe and secure. Maybe it can provide social proof of our desperate need to have value and worth and significance. But, just like anything else, that is not our designed purpose, which is to walk with God. When we make money a source of meaning and significance in our lives, instead of just a tool and a gift to be used in our lives, it becomes just another broken cistern full of sewer water. It never satisfies and it just makes us more and more sick and poisoned and toxic. This lie that money brings happiness. It permeates our culture, even though I think we do sometimes make societal wide bows to its emptiness. You know things like well, you can't take it with you, or money isn't everything, it's just right up there next to oxygen, or or it's better to give than receive. But I feel like, even though we say these things occasionally, that most often our lives don't reflect that we believe them. This is an old, old issue.
Martha Gano:I think we've heard this Scripture before, but I thought it'd be worth reading it so that we understand exactly what it's saying, because I've misunderstood it and I found something new in it. Actually, I had always known this part, for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, but I never noticed the second half of 1 Timothy 6.10. Check this out Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Well, first of all I want to make a point that the scripture does not say that money is a root of all kinds of evil. I think that's the most misquoted saying around this verse it says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Verse it says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil to the point that we made earlier that money is never supposed to be the source that we draw life from. It's supposed to be a gift that has its appropriate place in our lives. And then oof. This scripture doesn't just call it sin, it says it's a root of all kinds of evil. Yikes. And then that part about piercing themselves with many griefs because they chased money. I have a feeling that if you find anyone who has made money the idol in their lives, rich or poor, because this is not an amount of money issue that those people will tell you they totally understand Mark 10, 25. That says it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Martha Gano:Now, before you freak out, there is a solution. When we decide to choose generosity, the kind that Jesus modeled, we become his disciples with our lives, because believing in Jesus isn't just acknowledging who he is. James 2.19 says yeah, the demons also acknowledge who he is. It's just a statement of fact? Well, mostly it's yeah, that would be. I call that the Martha version of James 2.19. But that's the basic point. So to follow Jesus, to be his disciple, isn't just to say who he is. I call that the Martha version of James 2.19, but that's the basic point. So to follow Jesus, to be his disciple, isn't just to say who he is. It's actually to follow his way, it's to become like him.
Martha Gano:And here's the amazing, incredible, fantabulous prize at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box, there's this unbelievable life available to all of us, full of thrills, romance and adventure, called partnering with God to bring solution into the earth. See, when we decide to walk with God, we receive Jesus' sacrifice for what we've done. We trade our old lives for the new one that he gives us. We go from being orphans scrapping on the streets to take care of ourselves because nobody else will, to being sons and daughters of the King. That is our destiny, our purpose, our original design to walk with our Father, the God of the universe, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills which is the scripture's way of referring to the unlimited resource of heaven and to bring solution into every atmosphere.
Martha Gano:I enter every situation, I'm a part of every relationship that I have, and this is actually in no way limited to our money. It's my time, it's words that bring life instead of death. Sometimes it's hard work, so many things, but often it is money and our money, what we do with it. You guys, we can literally determine where our hearts will go. Luke 12, 34 says for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. So if I want my heart to be sunk into the kingdom of God, into who I am as a son or daughter of the King, I know how to move it there. And boy do I know, you guys, the adventure of partnering with the father in generosity, the miracles you will witness and be a part of the stories you will tell.
Martha Gano:You see, god is looking, he's looking for partners, for people. He can trust that when he pours out resource, they know that, yes, it's being given to them, but not only to and for them. He's looking for people who are willing to be conduits of resource and solution into the earth, to funnel it and, of course, to be blessed by it themselves. There's nothing wrong with that. But they recognize that there is also a higher calling, that they are actively partnering with the Father in kingdom work. This is why he says bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. And y'all listen to this. This is about to blow your mind. And if you're looking for where it is, it's in Malachi 3.10. Okay, let me read it again. Pay attention, open your eyeballs and your ears. Okay, bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. And try me now in.
Martha Gano:This, says the Lord of hosts if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it, let's go, jesus, because what happens when I'm receiving so much blessing? I don't even have enough room to hold it. It means it overflows out of my life and into the earth all around me. Y'all, that's a promise, and here's the thing. Yes, generosity is something that is actually for us, but it is also for those who need the solution, because we live on a broken planet and until the Lord comes back and heals it, there is brokenness and there is need, and he has charged us with it. Deuteronomy 15, 11 says for the poor will never cease from the land. Therefore, I command you, saying you shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and to your needy in your land, and listen y'all. I mentioned it earlier. This is not a dollar amount thing, this is about a heart posture. That's what brings this blessing.
Martha Gano:I have to tell you this story Now. Check this out. It's from Mark 12, 41 to 44. So interesting.
Martha Gano:Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and he watched the crown putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts, but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a few cents, calling his disciples to him. Y'all picture this. Jesus said truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything all she had to live on.
Martha Gano:Now don't panic. First of all, I do think that this widow knows a secret that we'll talk about later, but I don't think, and I'm not telling you, that you're supposed to give everything away all at once. Lol, don't get caught up in the letter of the law here. Let's hear the spirit behind what Jesus is saying. In other words, you can get in on this life of miracles, no matter how much you do or don't have. All of us get to choose. No matter how much you do or don't have all of us get to choose.
Martha Gano:Will we walk as orphans, scrapping to get as much as we can, no matter what it costs us or anyone else, hoarding out of fear of the future, because there's nobody that's going to take care of our needs, no one to protect or provide for us and because, if it's going to be, it's up to me. And as we pile it all up, there's no flow, no natural flow into and out of our resources, and it begins to stagnate and reek. And as we walk through the earth, we grab, we take, we keep, we demand, we self-promote, we self-protect, we hoard. Or do we operate as sons and daughters of the King, knowing that we are fully loved and fully provided for that we are not alone. Not only that, we have all of our Father's resources at our disposal.
Martha Gano:Check this out in Ephesians 2, 6 and 7. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him. Seated us with him in the heavenly realms, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages, he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. So what does that mean? To be seated with Christ in the heavenly places? Like what are we getting in on? Well, he talks about it earlier in the chapter before, in Ephesians 1. He says I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people and his incomparably great power. For us who believe, that power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. Far above all, rule and authority, power and dominion and every name that is invoked not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Martha Gano:You guys, this is so much bigger than just money. When we talk about having access to the resource of heaven and that the father is looking for sons and daughters that he can entrust with those resources to steward into the earth. We're talking about, yes, money, but so much more. So now, as we move, not as orphans, but as kings and queens in the earth, living and operating in the fullness of our inheritance and all its resources, not demanding that our own needs be met like an orphan, but knowing that we have full access to all of those resources of heaven, so that, as we walk through the earth now, we see the needs and we partner with the Father to bring solution. Imagine if that's how every Christian lived. How would our world be different? Lord, that's how I want to live my life. That's how every Christian lived. How would our world be different? Lord, that's how I want to live my life. That's what I want. God, let's go. Jesus. So that's a lot, lol.
Martha Gano:How do you even know how to get started? Well, it's actually super simple. We start with this concept called the tithe. It started in the Old Testament. It was the way of saying to the Lord this 10% of what I make that I'm giving back to you, and it was always the first fruits. It was the first 10%. It's my way of acknowledging that 100% of it came from you. It's really not for God. Like he's God right, he doesn't need my 10%. It's actually more about keeping my heart grounded in the reality that he owns all of it, because that's the foundation of my life and he knows that I need that regular grounding, that intentional posturing of my dependence on Him. It keeps him as my God and not myself or my money.
Martha Gano:Now, I know this is hard. I'm actually a single mom and at the beginning of my single mom journey, when I would sit in front of my computer on my banking website ready to push send on my tithe money, there are times that I would literally weep, sit crying as I push that button, in fear of not having enough for me and my children, for feeling like I was giving away what they would need. I came to understand what the scripture means when it refers to sowing in tears. I never understood that before. Psalms 126, 5 and 6 is where that scripture is housed. It says this those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping carrying seed to sow will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. You see, when it's time to plant seed, oftentimes the harvest of the previous year is gone or almost gone.
Martha Gano:I can imagine women taking grain that could be ground into flour and used to make bread to feed their families and their children, but choosing instead to put it into the ground, knowing that they may go hungry for a season, but having the faith that that seed in the ground would produce exponentially more than each individual grain and would provide for their families an abundance compared to just the pain of sacrificing that small seed. But in the moment when their bellies were hungry and they feared for their children, they had to weep while they laid those seeds in the ground. I think I may know just a very little bit how that may have felt, because that is often what faith feels like and it's okay for it to be hard at first. I lead a single mom small group and I tell them very frankly if you want to be in charge of your own life, don't tithe. If you want to have access to the resources of heaven, tithe. It's that simple and you would not believe the testimonies that I've heard from these women. I've seen so many financial miracles from people who choose to tithe first, when it would seem that there is not enough money in the natural.
Martha Gano:The story of the widow's oil and flour means something to them which have I mentioned, yet that if somewhere along the way you ever got the message that the Bible is boring y'all, there is some crazy stuff in the Bible. You should read it. Check this story out. It's in 1 Kings 17, 7 to 16, and it's about Elijah. Sometime later the brook dried up because there'd been no rain in the land.
Martha Gano:Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I've directed a widow there to supply you with food. So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked would you bring me a little water in a jar so I can have a drink? As she was going to get it, he called and bring me, please, a piece of bread. As surely as the Lord, your God, lives. She replied. I don't have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I'm gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. Elijah said to her don't be afraid, go home and do as you have said, but first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land. She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family, for the jar she had, so that it was not the thing that she was depending on to sustain her in order to shift her faith to God as the one who would ultimately provide for her so much more than that one handful of flour and that small amount of oil that she started with.
Martha Gano:There's a famous Martin Luther quote that says there are three conversions necessary to every man the head, the heart and the purse. You understand it now, right, you guys? It's so much more fun to live in surrender and trust and anticipation of what the Lord is about to do than it is to live in fear and lack. Once you begin to experience the faithfulness of the Lord, how you give will change. It's not that I don't occasionally have to take a deep breath, but now, instead of weeping, I say to the Lord all right, what are you going to do next for us, lord? How much do you want me to do here? Where do you want me to give this? What are we going to do next? My concern is no longer about how he's going to provide for me. That's a given. My question is how is he going to partner with me and provide for others? I promise you that is so much more fun of a question. So let's talk baby steps.
Martha Gano:I recommend that you start with tithing. 10% off the top of what you make goes back to your local church, and if you already tithe, then I can go ahead and tell you the secret. It's the secret to an unbelievable life. It's the secret that the widow with the two mites understood. In fact, let's look back at that widow. Can you imagine having Jesus pull his 12 disciples over and point you out as a model and an example? Here's what she understood. It's not about my 10%. Eventually, you get so hooked on this way of living with the Father that you realize that your heart is actually aligning with the heart of Jesus and you want 100% of your life to be his, including all of your resources. You trust him. You want to see more and more miracles. You want to be a part of more and more solution. You want more and more resource flowing through you.
Martha Gano:So if you already tithe, I encourage you, ask the Lord what other nonprofits and ministries does he want you to become involved with? What an awesome time of discovery. There are so many incredible organizations bringing solution to the world's problems. I actually have some of my own that I feel like the Lord's called me to be a part of. In fact, if you want to follow our social media, today, I'm going to be posting some of my own that I feel like the Lord's called me to be a part of. In fact, if you want to follow our social media, today, I'm going to be posting some of my favorite nonprofits and ministries and organizations that I personally support and love to recommend them to other people. So check it out on that social media.
Martha Gano:But meanwhile, you know, the Lord tells us that his sheep hear his voice and he's so interactive with us. The Lord tells us that his sheep hear his voice and he's so interactive with us. So ask him. I can't wait to hear what you discover from the Lord about where he'd like for you to be involved. So, folks, I can't believe I just said all of that out loud. I can't believe I actually talked about money on a public platform. Lol.
Martha Gano:I know that it goes against our culture to have this conversation, but I really believe it's actually an integral part of following the way of Jesus, of following Jesus, and I wouldn't want you to miss out on it for the world. So I'm willing to say those things out loud that not many people are, because it's worth it and because Jesus is worth it and because you are worth it. So thanks for spending some time with me today. Have a great Giving Tuesday and beyond or, if you like what you've heard, you can go ahead and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to yours, or follow our Instagram account, sips from the Fountain, or our Facebook page by the same name. Special thanks for Cover Art Photography to the Sarah D Harper, and I can't wait to hang out with you guys next time. Thanks so much. Love y'all. Thank you.