Sermon - Things We Need... Generosity - Littleby Baptist Church - February 21, 2021
As I flip through Things We Need List One and what has been covered so far on Things We Need List Two, I see several ‘Things’ that should lead us to live our next Things We Need… Generosity. Love should drive us to care for others in ways that we give of ourselves to others. To Be Used was a reminder that we were created to meet a need. Jesus gave His life for us, so we should be willing to give to others. Many of the Things We Need… from either list build on each other and it should not surprise us that many of the Things We Need would drive a Follower of Christ to be Generous.
“32 “And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me. 35 In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:32-35
Paul is using the words of Jesus ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ to emphasize his point of encouraging the Ephesian church elders to not be a burden on those they are serving. He reminded them that Paul himself would work to support his own needs and to even give to take care of others. Paul’s encouragement here is a great reminder that Generosity is not limited to money. Giving someone a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a strong back to help them move, or many other things are great examples of the Things We Need… Generosity.
I would like us to focus on Jesus’ words as we look at the Things We Need… Generosity. The point behind the words ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ as much as we enjoy receiving gifts from others, as much of a blessing it can be, according to our Lord Jesus giving to others blesses us even more.
Have you ever given something to someone and get that warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside when you see their reaction? I remember a few years back at a church I was serving at in Missouri, we partnered with two other churches to provide school supplies to the community. Seeing the look on some of the parents faces when they were handed several bags of school supplies was priceless. The look of relief on their faces when they realized that their kids would have everything on their school supply list, was heartwarming. The parent’s relief and the joy on the kids’ faces made the weeks of planning and everything that went into preparing the event worth it.
You can get that same warm and fuzzy feeling when you live the Things We Need… Generosity anonymously. For the last several years my wife and I watch for someone in need around Christmas. We sent a family who lost their primary source of income a gift card to the local grocery store so they could still have a nice Christmas dinner. A single mother who was hit with medical bills received a gift card to a store so she could buy presents for her kids. Another person we have never met received a gift because we had heard he was struggling to support his kids. I do not mention any of these to toot our horns, but to point out that it is a huge blessing to be able to give to others even when they do not know where the gift came from. God has blessed us, and it has been wonderful to be help others in need, even if we do not see their reaction.
It is more of a blessing to Give than it is to receive. It is a blessing to practice the Things We Need… Generosity!
“12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2
These words are pointing out that Jesus sacrificed Himself for us and found Joy in knowing that it would give us eternal life. The Joy, the Blessing, was worth the sacrifice Jesus made. Through His sacrifice, Jesus perfectly embodied the Things We Need… Generosity.
“38 Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” – Luke 6:38
Not that we should live the Things We Need… Generosity in hopes of receiving a reward, but the words of Jesus tell us that if we give, we will be blessed. Now I would challenge each of us by saying that we have already been blessed beyond measure by our Lords Sacrificial Gift. The gift of His death and resurrection that has wiped away all our sins, grafted us into the family of God, and made us a new creation is far greater than anything and everything we will ever be able to give away in this life. In a way, we are playing catchup as we have already been given more than we deserve. I want to be careful here, Jesus was not saying that we have to earn our blessings by being Generous. He has given us the gift of Salvation freely; we only need to accept His amazing gift. Jesus was talking to His disciples and He was encouraging them to embrace a lifestyle of Generosity. This was a foreign concept to many who were just used to scrapping by while being oppressed by the Jewish and Roman leaders.
“31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” – Matthew 25:31-34
Matthew 25 is focused on the End of Times but is relevant to the Things We Need… Generosity as it describes behaviors of those living out their faith even in the toughest of times. In these verses Jesus has returned as a triumphant king and starts separating the gentiles that lived through the Tribulation into two groups. There are those who truly repented, followed Jesus, and let the Holy Spirit guide them. They are the sheep, those who did not do these things are the goats.
Those on the right, the sheep, will be blessed by Father God for fulfilling the needs before them, by acting Generously towards others.
“35 “‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’” – Matthew 25:35-36
In these two verses we find six kind acts that are the result of living out the Things We Need… Generosity. Providing food for someone who is hungry is a sacrifice of time, money, and resources. Providing a drink to someone is at a minimum being Generous with time and resources. Taking a stranger in, meaning providing a place for them to stay, to rest, and to be refreshed is a huge act of Generosity. Providing clothes for someone who is without is being Generous with what is hanging in your closet or with your money as you buy them something new. Taking care of a person who is sick is a great example of Loving Your Neighbor in a truly sacrificial manner. Visiting those in prison is a way of giving of your time to someone who is struggling.
While none of these actions allow us to earn our salvation, they are examples of how we are to live out our faith in ways that show Things We Need… Love, Faith, To Be Used, Boldness, Humility, Wisdom, Hope, and Generosity. As the Holy Spirit works in each of us, as we truly learn to Love God with all that we are (heart, soul, mind, and strength) and to Love Others, these selfless acts become part of who we are. They become ways that we live out our faith in this fallen world. They are ways that we are used by God to shine His Light in darkness that surrounds us.
“37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’40 “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” – Matthew 25:37-40
The sheep, those who are deemed as righteous by God, question when they did, they do things for our Lord. His response is truly eye opening in telling us that whenever we do one of these acts for those in need, we are doing it for Him. If we are living out the Things We Need… Generosity, everything we do is truly for the Lord. We are to care for those in need, regardless of who they are or how we feel about them. We may think that a person has dug their own hole and need to wallow in it. The Loving thing, the Generous thing for us to do is to reach out and help them to stand on their own two feet once again.
“21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, 22 for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” – Proverbs 25:21-22
Even if you feel someone does not deserve your Generosity it is still something we are called to do. In these two verses we see that we are to feed our enemy and give them water to drink. In doing so we are heaping burning coals on them. This does not mean they are going to burned or punished, but is saying our kindness, our Generosity, is warming them up and softening their heart. If we direct our Things We Need… Generosity at our enemy, we may begin to win them over and the Lord may reward us with a friend.
“7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:7
As we evaluate our lives and how we are or are not living the Things We Need… Generosity, I want to reflect on Paul’s statement here. ‘God lives a cheerful giver.’ We cannot force ourselves to be Generous if our hearts are not there yet. For some the Things We Need… Generosity is something that happens with ease, for others it takes time for the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts. When Paul tells us that ‘God loves a cheerful giver’, he is telling us that we should not feel pressured into something, we should not try to compete with others, we simply need to give as the Holy Spirit guides us. There is no measuring stick to see who is the most Generous. the true measure is, are we obeying our God when He guides us to be Generous with the blessings He has given us.
The Things We Need… Generosity is one way that we live out our faith in this world.
God Bless,
Robert
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