Generosity, Week 3

Dr. Tim Rivers | November 17, 2024

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So good to be in God's house. We are in a series that we have called Generosity, and what we wanted to do with this series, even the name of the series, is we didn't want to try to trick you in any kind of way and call it something else and then be like, Hey, this is actually about money. We wanted to be upfront and tell you we're talking about generosity and one thing you'll know if you've been around embassy for any length of time or you're new to this place, here's our promise to you. We're going to preach the whole council of God. We're going to talk about subjects that make us joyful, some that make us nervous, some that convict us, but at any rate, we are going to preach the entire word of God. And so that's why we're doing this series. But in the spirit of generosity, as we're approaching Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks, are y'all ready for Thanksgiving yet?

Okay, good. Have you ordered your Turkey? I've already ordered my Turkey like two weeks ago to be delivered the day before Thanksgiving. I'm winning this year. But as we're getting ready for Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is always a reminder to be joyful, to be thankful, and it's also a reminder to share and to be generous to others. And that being said, what we wanted to do as a church is we know that there are individuals that are part of Embassy City Church who may be going through a tough time right now or maybe in a season of need, and how many have ever been there? You've been in a season of need. I'm going to talk about it a little bit in terms of our own experience next week, and I'm going to share some of the ways that we as a church body help the community organizations even within our own house.

But in preparation for Thanksgiving, if you are a member of Embassy City Church and you're going through a season where you may be in need or some assistance, then we want to rally around you and we want to help in that way. So if that's you, then get onto the website, embassy city.com, and there'll be a tab right there on the front page, it says Thanksgiving assistance. Just click on that, fill out the information, and we are going to bless you so that you can have a Thanksgiving meal. Come on. Now, it brings me joy to say that because the reason why we're able to do that is because of the generosity of this community. Last week we gave out 500 books all at no cost. Why? Because it was paid for by the generosity of these amazing people. A few weeks ago we gave out over 500 bibles for free because of the generosity of God's people.

So when you ask yourself the question, where's that money going? It's going to the gospel mission and this community is going to be taken care of and I'll talk more about that next week. So if that's you, you're a member of Embassy City Church and you're in the season, we've all been there and there's no shame in that game, we want to rally around you, let you know that we love you and everybody that's here say amen. Alright, grab your Bibles, which you stand to your feet. We're going to Luke chapter 12, the book of Luke chapter 12, starting at verse number 35. Going to read a few passages of scripture, a few verses of scripture Sorn in verse number 35. Luke chapter 12. Here it is. Jesus is speaking, this is what he says. Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for the master to come home from the wedding feast so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table and he will come and serve them if he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake. Blessed are those servants, but know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready for the sin of man is coming at an hour. You do not expect, Peter said, Peter always got something to say, don't he Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all? And the Lord said, who then is the faithful and wise manager? Somebody say manager. Manager whom his master was set over his household to give him their portion of food at the proper time.

Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all. Somebody say all his possessions, but if that servant says to himself, my master is delayed in coming and begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful and that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will receive a severe beating, but the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. That's a lot of beating going on.

Everyone to whom much was given of him much will be required. Oh, oh, we like that first part. God give me much, but there's a caveat. Do I like the dramatic music? Thank you everyone. To whom much was given of him much will be required and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. How many in his place want more? Be careful how many want much. Be careful what you ask for because to whom much is given, much will be required. And from whom and from him to whom? The entrusted much they will be demanded the more. Let's pray Heaven, many Father, we thank you so much for your word is a lamp to my feet align to my path. I pray that as we dig into your word and we consider what the word of God says, give us ears to hear or heart to receive in a mind to understand.

Help us to put aside all of our preconceived ideas about what we know and help us to be open to what the scripture says changes us from the inside out. Help us to bear fruit of your word. We give you name, the praise, the glory and the honor because you are absolutely worthy of it. We thank you God for all that we have in Jesus' name and everybody say amen. You may be seated. My title for today is All we have belongs to God, all we have belongs to God. Now, some of us believe that some of us say we believe that, but not everybody acts as if we believe that. I think it's natural for people who are Christians. It's almost our Christian duty to say that we believe that everything belongs to God and yet our life oftentimes will reveal something differently. The truth is we live in a society and a world and a culture where the big word for all of us is the word ownership.

Most of the times, most of us who work at a job or have worked at a job usually have a manager or a supervisor or someone that says, I need you to take ownership. I need you to take ownership. I need you to own this project. And what's interesting is we love this idea of own ownership. We don't like the idea of renting or leasing. We want our own thing, but the truth is most of us don't own the things that we think we own. There are a lot of people in here, you think you own your home, but really the bank does. You say, no, no, no, that's my home. Okay, skip a couple payments, see what happens.

That's my car. Is it though? Because if the repo man can come get your car, it ain't your car, right? It belongs to whoever is holding the note. There is a different owner. If you have a lien, hold on something. The one that has the lien hold owns it. Now this was a harsh reality for me because when I was 16, I bought my first car. Initially I drove my parents' car, a green Ford Tempo, and then I upgraded to a 1995 red Volkswagen Golf two door. That thing was so clean, I bought it for $3,600 and then as soon as I got it, I put the pioneer system in. It changed all the speaker 12 inch Rockford Fosgate in the back. Some of y'all know what I'm talking about. I would pull up the college bumping Fred Hammond and Kirk Franklin. Just because I had the system don't mean I wasn't saved anymore.

I came bumping Christian gospel music. Tide trip was on the regular and one day I'm driving home from work. I worked at a bank at the time and I'm driving home from work. I'm on the highway and I hit the brakes to take an exit and my brakes locked up, my car spins out of control. I veer off the road and I wrap a pole and it was a miracle that I wasn't injured. I literally hit the pole maybe five inches or so behind my head and I drove the car home. Amazingly, it was driving sideways, but you know what I'm saying, I am sure you've seen those cars that are driving straight, but the car's crooked. That's how I was driving home. Smoke was coming out of the front end, made it home, called the adjuster. Insurance adjuster came out and said, Hey man, this thing's totaled.

I said like, oh man. So they came back to said, Hey, we value it at $3,900. And I thought, wow, I just made a profit. I bought the car for 36, about to make 39, but here's the trick. I actually had a loan on the car to the bank that I worked at, and so when the adjust said we're cutting a check, I said, let's go not thinking that the bank was going to take 3,200 of it. So the only thing I got back was less than a thousand dollars, and I'm like, how am I supposed to buy a car with this? The truth is I got hit with the reality that the car was never mine. So the question for all of us is if there are things that are in your possession but you are not the owner, what does that make you?

If you live in a house but you really don't own it, then what do we call you? We can't call you an owner because you don't have the deed. We can't call you the owner of that car because you don't have the title. So what are you? Jesus is the one who answers that question in Luke chapter 12. So let's look at Luke chapter 12, and I want to look at it kind of in context, but I want to go through it. But one of the things that's very important for you to understand, let me give you some context for why this story is important, because in ancient writing they would use a literary form called a chiasm. And a chiasm simply put is a way to write or to speak or to tell a story in which you bookend an important message with two parables of stories.

You read a chiasm a lot in Proverbs and in the Psalms, and Jesus is doing the same thing here. So if you could just imagine in your mind a chiasm would be A, B, C, D, and it would be C, b, a. So as two stories that are pointing to one central truth and in this central truth in Luke chapter 12 can be found in verse number 34, the central theme and idea that Jesus wants us to grasp and he book ends it with two stories. Is this for where your treasure is there will your heart be also? So Jesus is talking about treasure, money, finances, and how your money follows or your heart follows your money. So Jesus gets into the story and this is what he says, verse number 35, stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

Now here's the twist. Let there are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes truly I say to you, he will dress himself. The master will dress himself for service and have them recline at table and he will come and serve them. So Jesus sets the story up. He first of all says, listen, in this story, you all are the servants. I am the master. But here's the plot twist. And Jesus always does this. Jesus says, when I come, I'm actually going to serve you and we see this play out. That's the gospel message, right? That he who is rich, he who is God has come took on the form of a servant to what serve us. Now let's look at verse number 42 and the Lord said, who then is the faithful and wise manager whom his master was set over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Now, if you are used to reading the King James version, this actually says blessed is the one when the master comes who is faithful and wise steward. So the word steward and manager mean the same thing, and this is what it means in the Greek, it's Omo, which means the household manager, the person who controls resources and expenditures for an estate. They are not somebody say not, they are not an owner. Now, last week we gave out a book called Giving is the Good Life by Randy Alcorn, and this is how Randy Alcorn defines a steward. Simply put a steward is someone an owner and trusts with the management of his assets? The steward's job is to handle the owner's assets with integrity, making sure to consult the owner about what he does with his owner's belongings.

We are God's stewards and we'll give an account to him for how we've done our jobs. Now, think about your finances. Think about the way you handle your resources. You are a steward, not an owner. Let me ask you this. When was the last time you asked God before you made that purchase, right before you swiped that card, did you ask God, God, is this what you would like for me to purchase? The truth is most of us don't ask God because we're afraid of what he may say. Can we just be honest here today, right before you go, do you consult the owner about his belongings? This is why Paul said in one Corinthians four, two, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. It is impossible to live a generous life if we don't grasp the fact that God owns everything.

Look at verse number 44. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. So when the master comes and finds a manager, a steward who stewards wealth, then the master based on his level of stewardship will give him even more. Some people wonder why God hasn't given them more. Maybe we have to confront the question, have we steward wisely what we already have? Because if you waste a hundred dollars, why would the owner give you a thousand verse number 45? But if that servant says to himself, my master is delayed in coming when the cat is away, the mice play and begins to beat. There's no reason for this. There's absolutely, I don't even know why this is in the story, but he figures the master's gone. So let me beat some people up. So he beat the male and the female servants.

It's one thing to beat up some dudes. You beating women too. You have lost all integrity, beat the male and female servants and then to eat and drink and get drunk. Remember, this ain't his stuff. So he's literally eating and drinking the master's possessions and getting drunk off the stuff and the master of that sermon would come on a day when he does not expect him and in an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. Now we read this passage, we think, man, that seems like a harsh punishment. He's literally cutting this man in pieces. It doesn't mean literally cutting, it means knocking him back down the sides. So this is basically what Jesus is saying when the master comes back and the steward who is not the owner is not managing well, the owner's possessions.

When he finds out that he wasn't handling it well, he's going to knock him back down to remind him, remember, you don't own this stuff and then it's even worse. He puts him into servitude. Now here's the thing, the opposite of a good steward is a steward who knows that it all belongs to the master but does not care. Now, there's a distinction between a servant and a steward. Now Jesus uses these two terms. He says a steward or a manager and he uses the word servant. A servant or a slave is someone who has no rights, they have no ownership, they don't even have the ability to own anything. So a servant in Jesus' time literally were the property of someone else and they were not allowed according to the law, they were not allowed to have any possessions of their own even. Check this out, even a servant's wife and children actually belong to the master.

He couldn't. They didn't even own their own families. Jesus then counters that with a term called a manager or a steward and a manager of steward in antiquity is someone who used to be a servant or a slave whom the master freed, but then made them a job offer. So as someone who was released from servitude, someone who's released from being a slave, and then the master would say, Hey, listen, you need to go out there and maybe you can get a job, maybe not, but you've been faithful as a servant and a slave, so I want to make you this job offer. Would you stay on with me and now you're going to earn an income to take care of all of my stuff? And generally speaking, someone who was a steward or a manager was someone that the master trusted a lot. Now this foolish steward or manager, if they don't recognize the blessings of having stewardship of the master stuff, they will start acting like it's their own stuff.

And this is what Jesus said happens when you're dealing with a foolish steward or an unwise manager. He says, when the master comes home, there are three things that start to happen for individuals that don't know how to steward well, number one is A for others. Think about it. The first action of this steward who did not own this stuff was to mistreat those who were not in the same position as him. One of the ways, if you want to find out if someone is an unwise steward, is watch how they treat people as fortunate than them. Once they get a little bit of money, if they start mistreating people that aren't at the same, they get that promotion and all of a sudden everyone that they were peers with, they start mistreating them. Has anybody dealt with that at a job? You were on the same level with them.

Y'all were all coordinators. Then they became just supervisor and they turned to a jerk. Maybe I'm the only one that dealt with, but you know what I'm saying? And you look around, you go, well, they're starting to think that they own the company and it's like, listen, you still got a lot of rings in this ladder to get there. Number two, he starts to eat and drink stuff that don't belong to him starts to act like what he's been given responsibility and trusted belongs to him starting to eat and drink as if it's his own. Have you ever had someone walk into your house and go in your fridge without asking? Doesn't that do something to your spirit? It's like, I don't mind you having it, but I don't like how you just walked up in here and act like this is your stuff. You got to remember this is my house, my fridge, my food, my drink.

I love, we love our children. We love that they get to just go to the fridge, but it's something like, Hey, did you ask for that? I was saving that for later. That's usually the case where my candy go, but this is what a foolish steward will do. And then here's the third thing. He gets drunk on what does not belong to him. Think about the implications here. A person who forgets that they're a steward and starts thinking that they're an owner will first of all mistreat others that are not on the same level as them who don't have as much as they do. They will start to eat and drink and consume stuff that doesn't belong to them. They will overindulge in things not having ownership of it, and third, they will get drunk or intoxicated or ified by stuff that doesn't belong. Have you ever seen somebody that can't even walk straight anymore because they have an indulgence problem?

This is what Jesus says will happen when someone starts thinking that they're the owner and forgets that they're the steward. Now here's what the master does. He comes home and he disciplines the servant and knocks him back down the sides and says, listen, you just thought you were the owner while I was gone, but I came unexpectedly. You see, you propped up on the couch drinking my soda and eating my chips. You need to get back down the sides. Now, when I read this story, I thought, man, this seems like a very familiar storyline. The principle at least sounds familiar, and so I want to go back real quick and I want to parallel two things. I want to go look at the children of Israel because we find a very similar story happening with the children of Israel. Now, you remember the story of the children of Israel.

They're really the sons of Jacob. They go into Egypt by imitation of Joseph and they stay in Egypt and then they begin to grow as a family and expand, and at some point their family is going so much that the Egyptians are nervous and Pharaoh brings them into slavery or servitude, and at that point, they're there now for three to 400 years in slavery and they have no rights. They have no possessions, they own nothing. The scripture actually says that the Egyptians were harsh taskmaster. They made 'em mix bricks and build stuff day in and day out, morning to night every single day. They had zero ownership. They were just a family of people who grew really large. So at the point where God says it's enough and he delivers them out of Egypt, when he brings the Israelite children out of Egypt, he not only delivers them, but the Bible says that they went out with all types of blessings, gold, silver, jewelry, stuff that they never owned or didn't earn. Let's read it. Exus chapter 12, verse number 35. The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them for, they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. Check this out, verse 36. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians so that they let them have what they asked.

Now, think about this. You've been a servant over here for the last 35 years. You're going through, you're polishing all the gold and silver, the golden goblets. You're taking care of the plates, you're putting out the fine China, and all of a sudden God says, Hey, deliverance is coming. Now, most servants or slaves would just run out the door and run as fast they can no matter what. Leave it all behind. We're leaving, right? But while they're out making their way out the door, they look over at that plate set that they've been polishing for the last 30 years and they're like this. Hey, do you mind if I take that with me? And God gives them so much favor that the Egyptians don't even know what they're doing. They're like, yes, have it. Please, if that worked for some plates, you mind if I take that pearl on that that you're wearing too? By all means yes.

Go ahead and snap them earrings off too while you're at it, right? In fact, let's go back in the house and get some more stuff. This is what the scripture says, thus they plundered the Egyptians. Think about it, slaves, servants who have been serving and been in slavery to the Egyptians are on their way out and God entrusts to them, all of Egypt's possessions without lifting a finger, just asking for it. That's how God works. When God begins to bless you, it's not because you did something great, you acted out of obedience. When you act out of obedience, then God can entrust you with more stuff. Now, here's the cool thing. They're walking through the open Red Sea, they get to the other side. Now they're in the wilderness. They've got all this stuff, all this gold, all this silver, all these jewel, all these jewelries, and then Moses goes up to the mountain to get a conversation with God and get the 10 Commandments while he's up there.

The children of Israel, remember, they're not a nation, they're not a people. They're brand new to be in set free. They still got a servant enslave mentality. They're sitting there with all of these possessions that God has entrusted to them. God is still the owner, right? Because he's the king of kings. He's given it to them. Why? To sustain them as they're going into their next season, right? They have all this stuff while Moses is gone, they look around, they go, we're really uncomfortable with having all this stuff. What are we supposed to do with it? What can we buy with it? And this is what they do. They get the bright idea. You know what if Moses is going to take so long and the servant of God is away, let's worship it.

They take what God entrusted to them and literally molted it into a cast and worshiped it. Do you see the problem here? Yes. Anytime you forget that what you have belongs to God, it turns into an idol in your life. And here's what the scripture says they did. They sat down after they worshiped it to eat and to drink and rose up to play. These are almost the exact same words that Jesus uses for someone who is an unwise steward. When you don't view what you have as belonging to the God to God, it's the natural instinct for you to worship your possessions. Lemme put it this way, the natural instinct of former servants is to consume and worship what they've never had. This is why when people who have never had start getting blessed by God, they worship the thing rather than God who gave the thing.

And you have to be very careful as a believer to stay away from the idea that you own what God has given you. Because if you think you own it, you will worship it. This is why verse number 48 says, everyone to whom much was given of him much will be required. It was never meant to be theirs in the first place. It was meant to be used for God and his work and from him to whom they entrust much they will demand the more. This is why Jesus is talking about it. So what do you do? That's the big question. What do you do when God begins to bless you with wealth? What do you do when God begins to pour out on you? Blessings. What happens in your life when God begins to not just sustain you but give you an abundance? God calls you to more stewardship.

Here's what Bonger and Cardin's define as stewardship as the active and responsible management of God's creation for God's purpose. I love the way John Mark Kuer breaks this down, the biblical theology of stewardship. Number one, if you're taking notes, you want to write this down. Number one, here's the revelation you need. If you're going to go through a biblical definition of stewardship, number one, you have to have a revelation. God owns it all. God owns it all. Now, most of us will say that, but very few will act like God owns it all. But from the beginning of creation, when God created the heavens and the earth and he put Adam and Eve in the garden, he didn't say, Hey, Adam and Eve, I created this world and I'm giving it to you. It's all yours now you can do whatever you want. No, God said, listen, the earth is mine.

The heavens are mine. I'm putting you there, and this is what God says to dress it and keep it. God literally put Adam and Eve in the garden to be gardeners. God said, listen them apples, they eat yours. You can have some, but it belongs to me. So take care of my stuff. Take care of my trees, cutting my grass. Plant these seeds. Take care of the animals. God calls them to stewardship. And if you don't believe this, check this out. Deuteronomy 10 14, behold to the Lord your God belong heaven and heaven of heavens and the earth with all that is in it. Leviticus chapter 25, verse 23, the land shall not be sold in perpetuity for the land is mine, for you are strangers and sojourners with me, one Chronicles 29 11, yours, oh Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.

Yours is the kingdom, oh Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Job chapter 41, verse 11, who has first given to me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. Psalm 50, verse 10, for every beast of the forest is mine. The cattle on a thousand hills, I know all the birds of the hills and all that moves in the fields is mine. If I were hungry, I wouldn't even tell you. This is the ultimate flex. If I'm hungry, I don't need to ask you permission to eat for the world and its fullest are mine. Haggai chapter two, verse number eight, the silvers mind. The gold is mind declares the Lord of host. Now we read these things and we think, Hey, of course the heavens and the earth and vegetation and animals, of course it belongs to God, but I'm my own person. I own myself. I'm a strong independent. I got ownership of my own self. I am me. I am that person gives me independence, vibes, it gives me ownership. Alright, I got one for you too. One Corinthians chapter six 19, or do not. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit with you, whom you have from God, check us out. You are not your own. Your literal body belongs to God. What you do with your body matters. Have you asked God permission to use your body the way you've been using it?

God,

If your body actually belongs to the Lord, have you asked him permission before you lay down in that bed with that stranger? Have you asked God permission with what you've been doing with your hands and your feet? Have you been asking God permission? Well, where you've been going, what you been doing? He got quiet. Hey pastor, get back to the money part. I don't have any of that. So what have you been doing with your body? It don't even belong to you down to your very breath. It's a gift from God. What you been doing with it? How you been taking care of it, right? Well, you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Have you been glorifying God with your body stewards or trustees who are unclear about who owns or who does not own what they're responsible for managing become embezzler, stealing what belongs to God and doing with it, whatever they please. It's a quote by Randy Alcorn in the book, giving us the good life. Here's number two. We are entrusted with resources to do good.

We live in a consumeristic environment and we are kind of conditioned to believe that the more we get, the more we get to do for ourselves, right? Even this series, I believe the Lord led me to talk about this series in the season that we're in, because we're entering the season of consumerism, advertisement marketing has been ramped up. This is the moment where billions of dollars are getting pushed into trying to get you to spend more money on yourself, stuff that you do not even need, right? Black Friday, cyber Monday, Amazon Prime get you some nice stuff. But here's the thing, God didn't entrust more resources to you to do more for yourself. Yes, God has blessed you with resources to take care of your needs, to plan for the future, to fund your business, to store up for your children and a legacy. But we all have to answer the question. Once our basic needs have been met and we're in a comfortable state and God keeps blessing us, we have to ask this fundamental question, why is God giving me more than I need?

Why does God keep giving me more than I need? More than that's necessary. It's in the scripture to whom much is given, much more will be required. Now, we love the idea of receiving more, and yet the scripture says if God gives you more, he wants more from you. If he's given you a talent to sing and to do, he wants to utilize that. If he's giving you finances that are way above your needs, it ain't for you to do more stuff, that's cool. I mean, go do some cool stuff, but it's because God may want to utilize your promotion to help somebody who's still waiting on one point. Number three, God blesses us to give more, not just have more. God blesses us to give more, not just have more. Now, this goes completely against the prosperity gospel. This is where the prosperity gospel gets it wrong.

Now, one thing that's at attractional, the reason why so many people buy into prosperity gospel, which is really an anti-biblical and a heretical teaching, the prosperity gospel promises that if you give, you will get and the more you get, the more blessed you are. We don't really find that principle in scripture. The reason why the prosperity gospel works though is because it's a half truth. The truth is you will reap what you sow. It's called the law of the harvest, right? If you have seeds and you plant them in good ground and you take care of it, that seed should produce fruit, right? And the more seeds you plant, the more trees you get. That is the law of the harvest. That's the natural law of the harvest. However, in biblical terms, just because you have a lot of stuff doesn't mean that you're blessed. There are a lot of people who have a lot of stuff that are not blessed by God. The Egyptians had all the gold and silver, but God's blessing wasn't on then. And it's just a matter of time to God transferred their blessings, their possessions to the Israelites for his purpose. So if you are an individual who is not submitted God, and you have possessions and you think that your possessions are an indication of blessing, just wait.

Why would God bless me with more than I need ready to be a conduit of blessing to others, the one who stewards the blessing of God, well often receive more resources to do what? To bless more, right? So let's recap. God owns it all. We are entrusted with his resources to do good. And three, God bless us to give more, not have more. I hear you. I agree. God owns it all. I believe in what you're saying, pastor. So here's the fundamental question though that's probably floating in everyone's mind. How much should I give or how much should I keep? That is generally the question that floats in everybody's head when you talk about generosity. Hey, give me a number, give me a percentage. And most of us are conditioned that we want someone to give us the exact amount so that we can just do our due diligence.

Now, anytime you talk about generosity, you got to talk about what most of us grew up learning, which is the tithes. Now, the way I grew up, we grew up in an environment where we went to church every Sunday morning for pre-service, prayer, and then service Sunday morning worship, and then Sunday morning or Sunday morning, Sunday school or Sunday morning worship. Then we had a Sunday night revival night, holy Ghost, fire night, Tuesday night prayer, Wednesday night Bible study, Friday night youth, Saturday night prayer and back on Sunday morning. And one of the principles that we were taught was the principle of tithing. Now, our parents always practiced tithing for far back as we can remember, and they taught us at an early age that you are to give 10% of everything you make. Listen, this is the way it worked in our house. We learned, learned the word tithing at a early or it's like mama tithing.

And our parents taught us that no matter how much you make, you give 10%, if you made a dollar, you brought a dime to the house of God. And we did the offering marches. Anyone grew up like that where you came around the front, you had to drop it in to the offering, and we had an offering bucket that was the shape of the church. So you knew exactly like, oh, this is the house of God. And then the pastor would be right there on the platform watching. That's when you start folding up your money real tight so they can't see the denominations. So we grew up with this idea of tithing, and I've held to that principle for, and here's the thing with tithing. What happened with us is you'd make $5 and you brought 50 cents, you get 10, you bring a dollar, you bring a hundred, you make a hundred, you bring $10, a thousand, a hundred, 10,000, and so on and so forth.

But I want to talk to you about where the principle of tithing comes from or where the idea of tithing comes from because I'm very well aware that in this room and watching online, there's a mixed bag of generosity practices. There are some in here that you've been practicing tithing for decades, 50 plus years you've, you've been a faithful tithe. You've been given 10% of everything you earned for as long as you've been a Christian. There are some in here that you may be a sporadic giver. You give based on how you feel and how much you got. Because sometimes when you go through hard times, you're like, God, 10%, right? So there are those who give sporadically when they feel good, when they get a raise, when they get a bonus, just whenever. And then there are some who give a lot. You give way more than 10%.

You are someone that I want to go above and beyond, and there are some who give very little the average. Statistically speaking, the average person that gives in church gives about 2.5% of their income. That's about a quarter per $10. And then there are those who give nothing. Right? And maybe you're new to the idea of giving new to the idea of tithing, but I want to break down where the principle of the idea of tithing came from a biblical perspective. Most of us actually have maybe learned the act of tithing, but not where it came from. So I want to give you the origin. So simply put, tithing means one 10th. It means 10%. And the first implication of a tithe with Cain and Abel, Cain and Abel obviously probably learned this from Adam and Eve. The scripture says that they would bring the first fruits of their work.

So for Abel, he was a shepherd. So he brought an animal sacrifice, and for Cain, he was a farmer. So he would bring his fruits and vegetables. Now, when they came and brought their first fruits to God, it seemed to be the same amount. But when God looked at their offering, he rejected Cains and he accepted ables. God establishes from the very beginning, it's not really about the amount, it's about the spirit behind the amount. Because a lot of people can go into a religious practice of, well, here's God's 10 and the nine is mind and God's like this. No, no, no, man, I don't really need more fruits and vegetables. I own all of it. Anyways, I got the freshest stuff. It was about the heart, right? So that's the first implication. The second you can read about this in Genesis chapter four, verse three.

Then we see it again explicitly as a 10th as a tithe. When Abraham gives to Melek in Genesis chapter 14, verse number 18 through 20, this is an indication. This is when Abraham, he gives to Melnick, who's the king of Salem, and most biblical scholars believe that McKenny was the type and a foreshadow of Christ. And he says, everything that I have, of everything that I have, I'm giving you a 10th. And then we see the institution, somebody say institution. We see the institution of tithes when God established it as a law, a lawful practice with the children of Israel. Now, I want to break this down because a lot of times when we think about the tithe, we take 10%. But here's what God established when he instituted tithe, he didn't do tithe, he did tithes. So number one, God says, I want an annual tithe.

It means 10% of everything that you have goes to support the Levis, the priests and other religious personnel who were the officers of the Lord who worked in the temple. You read about this in numbers chapter 18, verse 21 through 24. Then God says, I want a festival tithe, and this is 10% of everything that you have, which went to the expenses of all the feasts and the upkeep of the temple. Read about that in Deuteronomy chapter 14, verse 23, 22 through 27. Then God says, I also want a third year tithe. So every three years, I want you to give me another tithe. And this is for the poor of the land and for the Levites. So right now we're at 23.3% of everyone's income who are Jewish people. God said, I want that. So it wasn't just 10%, it was more like 23.3. Then on top of that, God says this, and I also don't want you to harvest the corners of your field. I want you to leave that for the poor. So when it's all said and done, if you look at the historical account of what tithes did when God instituted, it literally required a faithful Jew to give about 25 to 30% of their household income to the work of God.

Some of y'all nervous. Where's this going? Now, let me tell you why God instituted the tithe. Remember I told you the story. I told you what happened with the children of Israel. There were slaves. They come out of Egypt. Now they're literally just a family of people. There are 12 tribes. There's just a family. They're a grouping of people. They come out of Egypt, they're now in the wilderness. We see what happens when you just have a group of people, just the family who have a lot of possessions. They make an eye out of it. So what God does is when he brings Israelites out of Egypt, he then incorporates them as a people group called the Israelites, and this is what God does with the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments are literally the article of incorporations for the nation of Israel. Anytime you have an institution, anytime you have a grouping of people, you need government.

What God established with Israel is what is called a theocracy. We live in a democracy where you get to elect officials, but God established a theocracy. A theocracy is when God is the ruler and he is the king, and he elected or he drew the Levites and priest to be his officers who would work on his behalf with the children of Israel. So when God instituted the tithes, it was for his government. Tithes was a form of taxation. Now, what does that mean? We all pay taxes hopefully, right? You may like it, you may not, but you are required as a citizen of the United States to pay your taxes. Why? Because your taxes go to fund the enterprise and the infrastructure of our country, of our government. Your taxes go to build roads, to build municipal buildings. It pays for salaries. The mayor, the governor, the President, all of the infrastructure that we get to enjoy as citizens of the United States are paid for by the taxes.

This is why God instituted the ties. Why? Because he said, I need all this to come in from everybody. No matter if you had an acre, you gave me 10% of that. If you had 10,000 acres, you gave 10% of that. Why? Because it went to fund the enterprise of the theocracy of the government of God. Do you see that? So it makes sense. Then this is why Malachi chapter three, verse eight, God says to the people, there are real consequences to you not paying your taxes. Look at it. Well, man, Rob God, yet you are robbing me. And you say, how are we robbing you in your tithes and contributions? Remember, the enterprise of the theocracy was funded by the tithes. So when people didn't bring their tithes, it hampered the movement of God's government on the earth.

If you don't pay your taxes, they're going to be real consequences. The IRS is going to come knocking at your doors. You may say, well, I don't want to pay my taxes. They don't care, right? Because if everyone decides we ain't paying taxes, we going to be back to horse and buggy, right? So this is why God instituted a tithe, and this is why this is the central purpose of the tithes. Malachi chapter three, verse 10. This is the key passage that most use for the case of tithing. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more room, no more need. Now, there are a lot of people right now that you have PTSD from hearing that passage, right?

Because there are a lot of preachers and teachers who will use the scripture to manipulate the emotions of people by just quoting that last part of the passage and thereby putting me to the test. It's the only place in scripture where God says, test me. How many have heard that that's not the point. The point of why God instituted the tithe was the very beginning part that there may be food in my house. Why? Again? Because the purpose of the tithes was to fund the work of God and to fill God's storehouse for what? The benefit of the people who were a part of the nation that God established as a theocracy. That is the real purpose of the tithes.

What does that mean for us in the New Testament? Great question because when we get to the New Testament, not much is mentioned directly about the law of the tithes. And here's why. Jesus shifts the attention from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law, because in the New Testament, generosity becomes a lot more potent. It requires a lot more spiritual maturity because it's very easy to look at a check and be like, God, here's your 10. The 90 is mine and what the Jews were doing at the time of Jesus, it became just a religious practice versus a matter of the heart. They forgot that it's a theocracy and it is just something that I do. And Jesus confronts it by saying, Hey, listen, giving has always been a matter of worship and of your heart. And so many people can get caught up in, well, what percentage? It ain't about the percentage. It's about the heart because you can give 10% and don't give a rip about the kingdom of God and God don't want that money.

Thank you, sis. So when we come into the New Testament, it becomes a lot more potent because Jesus brings the focus from a religious practice of tithing to a spiritual practice of generosity. And every time you see generosity after the inception of the church, it was not about 10%, it was not about 15%, it was not about 5%. It was about everyone getting the concept that I am giving toward the work of God. And you have to decide in your heart that the work of God is important enough that you will be generous toward it.

So this is what our family does because 10%, again, people get caught up in the tithes in the 10% part. But when God established the tithe, he established it as if I want to set a baseline that everyone can hit, God says 10%. So tithing was never meant to be the ceiling. It was always meant to be the baseline, the foundation. And if you're caught in percentage, you've missed the spirit of it. Because here's the thing, Paul breaks it down how we ought to give in the New Testament practice. Second Corinthians chapter nine, verse six. The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Here's the point. Whatever you give is what God evaluates to give. So if you sow sparingly, you get sparingly. If you sow bountifully, you reap bountifully. So the question is, how was you trying to reap? Am I still in the Bible?

Verse number seven, each one. Some must say each one, each one must give as he has ready decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheer forgiver. This is the mode in which we practice generosity. We are no longer under the Judeo law. We're under the spirit of a kingdom that is not of this earth. We are part of the church. Here's the key. Each one must give. No one is exempt from this. If you're a part of the body of Christ, each one must practice generosity. Verse number eight through 11. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency and all things that all times you may abound in every good work as it is written, he has distributed freely, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. Check this out. You will be enriched in every way. Yes, to be generous in every way. Wait, what? This destroys the prosperity gospel concept of God, blessing you just for you to flex.

You'll be enriched in every way, to be generous, in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God for the ministry of his service. Of the service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many Thanksgiving to God. So here's the question that I know people are dying ass. Just give me a percentage. Short amount. It ain't that easy. You got to go to God and you got to ask God with spiritual maturity and discernment. God, what do you want me to do with what you've given me? Each one must decide in their heart. Here I'll close with these points. Here's what I can tell you, our giving should be. Number one, regular, not sporadic. This is what the scripture says on the first day of each week. Each one of you should set aside a sum of money. Generosity must be a planned regular practice. It must be a planned regular practice. It cannot be sporadic. Lemme tell you, if you're sporadic on paying, your light bill reliant is coming to your house and them lights ain't going to work. If you're sporadic with your water bill, you may turn the faucet on and get no water. Why will we be sporadic in giving to the Lord? What if the Lord was sporadic in giving to us?

So lemme tell you how our family does it. Every two weeks that check hits the bank, we give to the Lord. Why? Because here's the principle that we have established. If the Lord has been so gracious to us to bless us regularly, then why would we not give to him regularly? And it's a biblical principle. Number two, it should be proportional. Each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping up with your income. This is straight from the word set a percentage aside that belongs to God's work. So here's the thing, it's proportional to what the Lord is blessed you with. To whom much is given, much is required. So here's the thing, if that, that's a biblical principle and it is, then as God grows your resources, he expects more of your resources to come back to him.

This is what bothers a lot of people that have stayed at the same amount of giving for the last 30 years. Because as God has blessed you, the question still remains. Why are you blessing me with more? Lord, could it be that God is wanting to funnel blessings through you to the work that he's doing? So for instance, if you get $10 more an hour at your new job, is it just for you to get more sneakers or is it so that you can take one hour, $10 out of one hour and put it toward an organization that's helping to feed the port?

That's too practical. Number three, it should be sacrificial. They gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability. Lemme tell you something, the hard part about generosity is that it hurts. Is anybody given and it hurt? Don't leave me out here by myself. Have you ever given to the work of God and been like, man, what I could do with that? You should feel giving. Why? Because God felt everything when he gave. I don't have the time. Y'all. Mark chapter 12, verse number 42. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny, and he called his disciples to him and said to them, truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box for they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty, has put in everything.

Everything she had, all she had to live on. Your giving should be proportional to your income. Number four, it should be voluntary. You notice that when you came to the door today, we didn't hold you at gunpoint and say, you better drop someone in this offering before you get access. We didn't sell tickets for you to get in here. Why? Because it should be voluntary. Each one should give what you have decided in your heart, but each one should, right? Not reluctantly or under compulsion. Ain't nobody off you twisted your arm. It is a relational thing with you and God, which means that you need to make space for prayer and discernment. Number five should be joyful. God loves a cheerful giver. God doesn't want grumpy money.

He don't want it. He don't need it. Right? Here's number six, and this is the final point. We should be motivated by devotion to Jesus, not giving out of a religious duty or even philanthropy where you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich. Meaning we see growing and generosity as an aspect of training under Jesus. When God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son. He didn't give part of his son, he gave all of his son. Now the, again, pastor, tell us how much. Let me point you to scripture and point you to the Lord. Ask him,

Ask him.

Father, thank you for the gift, the gifts that we've been given in the form of our resources. What do you want us to do with what you've given us? How should we steward what you've blessed us with? For many of us, Lord, you have blessed us far beyond our need, far beyond what is necessary and money will fade away. It will be spent, but your kingdom will last forever. So Lord, I'm praying for your people as they are considering and prayerfully coming to you, that you would speak to them about what they should decide in their hearts to give to you. Not out of manipulation, not out of compulsion, not out twisting anybody's arm, but literally an act of worship as we see your kingdom and your purpose being accomplished. 51 people being baptized last week, 251 people baptized this year, Lord, we've given as a community tens of thousands of dollars away in benevolence, tens of thousands and missions into launch churches to help sex trafficking victims come out of slavery and be put on the road to rehabilitation. This is all because of the generosity of your people.

We've been a part Lord of launching several churches this year. We've been a part of supplying food for the homeless. This is all because of the generosity of people. I pray that this would be a revelation for all of us, that you've blessed us far beyond what we could ever imagine. For some God in this place. You're calling them to begin the practice of regular proportional generosity for some who may have given in the past but have have been hurt by a manipulative leader and a church that was not submitted to the practices of scripture. I pray that you would heal them first and foremost, and that you would open their hearts back up to the benefit of the kingdom for those Lord who may have just been given out of regularity and out of a religious practice. I pray that we would go back to you and ask you, Lord, what is it that you want to do in this next season?

Speak to us. Speak to our hearts. Jesus name, would you stand to your feet all across this house?

I love the word of God because it does its own work. It does its own work. Here's what we want to do. Before we leave, I want us to pray this prayer together and then we're going to take, we're just going to take 10 seconds as we've done every service. We're going to let the Holy Spirit speak to us and as I said in the prayer, just kind of feel prompted that there are some individuals in here that God is calling you to start the practice of generosity and listen to the Lord, okay? Listen to what God is telling you. Alright? For some of you, it's an mouth. Some of you, it's it for Son. Whatever it is, listen to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. Alright? Some of you, it is going to be the first time, but I promise you that you can never out give God.

You can't finesse God, right? He owns it all anyways, right? The second group of people, there's some of you that have given in the past, you've been a regular giver and something happened in your life, some hurt and you've stopped. Maybe you changed your theology on it. The principle of generosity is still in scripture and God is calling you to trust him again and trust the church again and trust the ministry again. And the third is those, and this is a hard one that have just been in the habit of it. I've done it for 30 years. I've done 10% for 30 years. God's going, Hey, I upped your income over the last 30 years. I've blessed you with more. Why are you keeping me at the same level?

That's just a challenge. Again, you're going to have to go to God to hear from him. So we're going to pray together. We're going to wait, and then you're going to have an opportunity to practice generosity into this house. Next week I get the opportunity to share you all the ways that we've been able to help organizations and things like that. But you can give through the QR code text to give or there's kiosks out in the lobby to do so as well through envelopes or however you'd like. But I want to pray this prayer together in concert, not call and response in concert. It's going to come up on the screen and I want you to pray this with me. Are you ready? Yes. Here we go. Dear Lord, help us to see all we have belongs to you, including our finances. You've trusted us as stewards. Help us to manage your resources wisely, to receive, thankfully, to give cheerfully, guide our generosity and we will obey your leading. Amen. Now, just take a few seconds. Listen to the Lord. Whatever he's saying to you, your responsibility is simply obedience.

God, we give because you first gave to us Jesus name, everybody say amen.