A GENEROSITY EKG
DEMONSTRATE • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 12 viewsThe mercies of God take a person who is bent on getting and turns them into a person who is bent on giving.
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An EKG is intended to show us the condition of our heart. As we will see tonight Jesus uses generosity as a spiritual EKG.
And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
In salvation God gives us a new heart with every craving and capability to obey. Prior to conversion most people do not possess an appetite for obedience. However, there are those who use religion as a means of self-preservation. Their perceived appetite and ability does not emanate from their heart but their head. They attempt to leverage their obedience into blessing. Their behavior is not rooted in an experience of mercy but in their expectation of mercy.
The heart spoken of in Ezekiel and many other passages understands that the commands of our Father graciously show us how to say thank you for the grace and mercy we have already received.
Though we have a new heart fully equipped with new cravings and capabilities there yet remains our flesh with all of its cravings and capabilities.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
People who live a life of greed will go to hell.
And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
Every true follower of Christ has within them the propensity to be greedy. Yet our Father has provided for us means of grace in the discipline that occurs when His children fall into greed.
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
If we don’t put to death greed we will prove the true condition of our heart. True Christianity is marked by a fight of faith against the flesh. Our new heart give us a craving for war and the capability to win. Our obedience to Christ commands concerning money lays the Sword of the Spirit at the root of greed and makes us generous.
Generosity puts greed in a strangle hold. It cuts off all necessary resources needed for greed to thrive. Generosity insulates us from greeds infection.
Beware of trivializing Scriptures warning. They are not to be opposed but obeyed. They demand our surrender not scrutiny. They demand our full compliance not our consideration.
The heart of flesh cries out YES LORD while our flesh cries out for more. It is when the heart only cries for more that we can be assured there is no LORD and thus no salvation.
The mercies of God take a person who is bent on getting and turns them into a person who is bent on giving.
The mercies of God take a person who is bent on getting and turns them into a person who is bent on giving.
Let me show you the EKG of a heart that living and giving generously.
A GENEROUS PERSON HAS RECEIVED GOD’S GENEROUS MERCY IN CHRIST AND IT OVERFLOWS IN GENEROSITY TOWARD OTHERS.
A GENEROUS PERSON HAS RECEIVED GOD’S GENEROUS MERCY IN CHRIST AND IT OVERFLOWS IN GENEROSITY TOWARD OTHERS.
There are a lot of wrong motives for giving: pride; the desire for power; guilt; greed (the thought that if I give, God will give back to me far more); pressure; or, responding to gimmicks.
The right motive for giving is that God has mercifully and generously given me eternal life through the sacrifice of His own Son.
Without a knowledge of our extreme sin the payment of the Gospel seems trivial and does not electrify or transform.
When we mediate on God’s mercy our hearts begin to reflect His generous nature towards others.
for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,
There are three levels of giving - giving less than our ability, according to our ability, or beyond our ability.
What does it mean to give beyond our ability? It means to push our giving past the point where the figures add up. It means to give when the bottom line says we shouldn’t. It means to give away not just the luxuries, but also some of the necessities. It means living with the faith of the poor widow. For most of us, giving according to our means would stretch us. Giving beyond our means would appear to break us. But it won’t—because we know God is faithful.
Giving sacrificially also means giving the best. If we have two blankets and someone needs one of them, sacrificial giving hands over the better of the two. Sadly, much of our “giving” is merely discarding. Donating secondhand goods to church rummage sales and benevolence organizations is certainly better than throwing them away. But giving away something we didn’t want in the first place isn’t giving; it’s selective disposal. It’s often done because we want a newer or better version.
King David said,
But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
Sacrificial giving is parting with what we’d rather keep. It’s keeping the old and giving away the new or giving away both. Sacrificial giving appears to be unreasonable. In reality, though, it’s perfectly reasonable. It brings God glory, meets others’ needs, and ensures us eternal rewards. And all the while God takes care of our immediate needs. Sacrificial giving makes no human sense. But we are to think like Christ, not the world.
The act of giving is a vivid reminder that our life is all about God, not about us. It says, “I am not the point, God is the point. He does not exist for me. I exist for him.” God’s money has a higher purpose than my affluence. Giving is a joyful surrender surrender to a greater Person and a greater agenda.
Giving affirms Christ’s lordship. It dethrones me and exalts him. It breaks the chains of MONEY that would enslave me and transfers my center of gravity to heaven.
As long as I still have something, I believe I own it. But when I give it away, I relinquish the control, power, and prestige that come with wealth. At the moment of release, the magic spell is broken. My mind clears, and I recognize God as LORD - MASTER - OWNER, myself as SLAVE, and other people as intended beneficiaries of what God has entrusted to me.
Giving doesn’t strip me of my vested interest; rather, it shifts my vested interest from earth to heaven—from self to God.
A GENEROUS PERSON GIVES CHEERFULLY AND THANKFULLY, NOT GRUDGINGLY OR UNDER COMPULSION.
A GENEROUS PERSON GIVES CHEERFULLY AND THANKFULLY, NOT GRUDGINGLY OR UNDER COMPULSION.
Paul puts it this way
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.
There are many reasons for joy in giving. One is knowing that we’re investing in eternity and that one day in the heavenly kingdom we’ll see the tangible results of our giving. There’s an ongoing drama of human request and divine response in which God the Director offers us the part of the giver. One part of Christ’s body channels its resources to a more needy part, then receives those resources back in other ways at other times.
your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
Generosity is closely tied in with a cheerful, thankful attitude. If it takes pressure tactics or guilt to get you to give, you’re probably not giving generously. Ask yourself, “Do I give cheerfully with thankfulness to God for His unspeakable gift to me?”
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
A GENEROUS PERSON GIVES PRAYERFULLY, SYSTEMATICALLY, AND FAITHFULLY, NOT IMPULSIVELY OR SPORADICALLY.
A GENEROUS PERSON GIVES PRAYERFULLY, SYSTEMATICALLY, AND FAITHFULLY, NOT IMPULSIVELY OR SPORADICALLY.
As we just read, biblical givers “purpose in their hearts.” They plan to give. As Paul wrote
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
He wanted the believers to be thoughtful, systematic, and disciplined with their giving. Impulsive, sporadic giving is usually not generous.
Often it is a response to alleviate guilt. So ask yourself, “Do I give prayerfully, systematically, and faithfully, or only impulsively and sporadically?”
A GENEROUS PERSON GIVES AS THE LORD HAS PROSPERED HIM, WITH HIS SIGHTS ON ETERNITY.
A GENEROUS PERSON GIVES AS THE LORD HAS PROSPERED HIM, WITH HIS SIGHTS ON ETERNITY.
The tithe is where generosity begins not where it ends. The standard is, “as he may prosper.” For the average American Christian a tithe is not sufficient to fight greed. It can make us feel good but it can’t fight greed.
Generosity is our Father’s heavenly retirement plan. Whatever we lay up in heaven will be ours eternally.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Let me simplify these verses
What we keep we lose and what we give we keep.
What we keep we lose and what we give we keep.
When Jesus warns us not to store up treasures on earth, it’s not just because wealth might be lost; it’s because wealth will always be lost.
Either it leaves us while we live, or we leave it when we die. No exceptions.” So ask, “As God prospers me more, do I look for ways to give more or to spend more? Is my aim to collect more stuff here or to invest in that which lasts for eternity?”
Christ’s words were direct and profound
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What we do with our possessions is a sure indicator of what’s in our hearts. Jesus is saying, “Show me your checkbook, your credit card statement, and your receipts for cash expenditures, and I’ll show you where your heart is.” What we do with our money doesn’t lie. It is a bold statement to God of what we truly value.
What we do with our money doesn’t simply indicate where our heart is; it determines where our heart goes.
What we do with our money doesn’t simply indicate where our heart is; it determines where our heart goes.
Where do you want your heart to be?
Where do you want your heart to be?
Jesus tell us exactly how to get it. Put your money in blank and your heart will follow. Put your resources, assets, money, possessions, time, talents, and energies into the things of God and your heart will follow. As sure as the compass needle follows north so will your heart follow your money.
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