God of Generosity
God of Generosity
1 Chronicles 29:14-19 (NIV)
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”
Ps 24:1-2
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
Introduction
Key point: We're often told we "should" do something without being told "why" (i.e. we "should" read our Bible every day and we "should" give to God).
Humor: Story of $1 bill and $100 bill on the way to the furnace.
Matt 2:11 (The wise men) saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
A Christian can never serve God AND Money, but they must learn to serve God WITH money.
“A checkbook and financial statements are theological documents, they will tell you who and what you worship.” Brian Kluth (1955-), Pastor and Generosity Speaker-Author
People go through 3 conversions:
their head, their heart and their pocketbook.
Unfortunately, not all at the same time. Martin Luther
The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; Psalm 37:21
If we belong to Christ, it's logical
that everything we have truly belongs to Him.
The real measure of our wealth is how much
we'd be worth if we lost all our money.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
Titus 34-7
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
God’s Lordship and Ownership
A lot of people are willing to give God the credit, but not too many are willing to give Him the cash.
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” — Martin Luther (1483-1546), German reformer and theologian
“Stewardship is the act of organizing your life so that God can spend you.” — Lynn A. Miller, author
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.
“He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6 About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”