Unlocking the Joy of Generosity

Dr. Jeff Schreve: I heard about a missionary, and he was talking to a new convert named Pablo. He was talking to Pablo, and he said, "Pablo, if you had 100 sheep, you'd give 50 of them to the Lord's work, wouldn't you?" Pablo said, "You better believe it, preacher." And he said, "And if you had 50 cows, why you'd give 25 of those cows to the Lord's work?" He said, "You can count on me. You better believe it." And he said, "And if you had two pigs, you'd give one of those pigs to the Lord's work?" And he said, "That's not fair. You know I have two pigs." Here's the point. We like to give in principle, in theory. Hey, it sounds good. But what we really believe we practice. All the rest is just religious talk.
Larry Nobles: This is *From His Heart* with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Thank you for joining us for the last lesson in the series *Attitude or Altitude* that we've been airing the last half of this month. Today's message: Givers and Takers, Which Are You? Today, you'll find out. We're going to be learning about real attitude that is reflected in our religious activity. Today, we'll discover if we have an attitude of cheerful generosity or, well, not so much. Now, if you've missed any of these timely messages, you can always go online to fromhisheart.org and click the listen link to download a free MP3 of any broadcast and, of course, listen to it right there. Today, our text is found in the Book of Acts, Chapter 20. Here's Pastor Jeff to help us better see the motivations behind being a giver or a taker.
Dr. Jeff Schreve: Jesus said in Acts chapter 20, verse 35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Jesus said in Luke chapter 6 and verse 38, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return." Now listen, if you want to be blessed, more blessed, then give and become a generous, cheerful giver. If you want God to give to you, and you want God to do great things in you and through you, then learn to be a generous, cheerful giver. I want to share with you three truths to encourage your heart, to encourage my own heart about this thing called generosity and giving cheerfully to the Lord. Truth number one: God loves it when you and I give. Why does God like giving so much in you and me? When He sees it in you and me, because He sees Himself in us when we give. You imitate God when you give. It's a test of faith, and it shows God that you believe Him. It shows God your faith. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God." And so that's why God loves it so much. Boy, it's such a cool thing that we can do to be a blessing to God's heart. Look what it says in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 7: "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." So that's the first truth. When you develop this heart of generosity and being a cheerful giver, God loves it when you do that. Truth number two: Not only does God love it when you give, God warns you when you give. You say, "Well, what's he going to warn me about?" Well, listen, don't give with prideful motives. Have you ever known someone who would give with prideful motives? Jesus talked about that in Matthew chapter 6. Jesus talked about the Pharisees who, when they would give, they would blow a trumpet. Can you imagine? I'm getting ready to put in the offering plate, and they would blow a trumpet so everyone would look at them. It was trumpet fanfare. Look what I just put in. Wow. Jesus said, "You see that guy? He's got his reward in full. He wants to be noticed of men. That's all he gets. He's not going to be rewarded of God because it was just all about him. It was just a pride thing." It's dangerous to give with a prideful motive. How are we to give? We're to give out of a heart of love. We're to give expecting nothing in return. God says, "Watch your motive." He warns us when we give. He loves it, but you have to do it with a right heart and a right motive. When Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," it's assumed that you're giving from a right heart and a right motive. When He says in Luke chapter 6, "Give and it will be given to you," it's assumed that it's done from a right heart. So watch your motive. And then truth number three: The Lord blesses you when you give. Look at verse 38 again: "Give and it will be given to you." How? "Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap." Now here's the picture. The people that lived in Jesus' day, men and women, they wore long flowing robes. And they had a long flowing robe with a sash or with a belt. And when they would go to the marketplace, they could easily with that outer tunic, that long flowing robe, they could create a pouch very easily with their tunic. They would just pull it up through the belt and pull out material, and they could make a big bag. And oftentimes they would do that and go to the marketplace. If they were going to get grain or something like that, they could just make a big pouch and they could get that grain, and then they could take that grain home. Now, God says that when He gives, He gives good measure, which means He's not counting out you're going to get rice at the market. He's not counting out every grain. He's not saying, "Okay, well I'm going to give you 300 grains. One, two, three." No, He's just got this big scooper and He's just pouring it in there, right? Good measure, pressed down. That means, "I'm going to make sure that we don't have any pockets. There's no wrinkles in your garment here that could prevent this from not filling up all the way." So I'm pressing it down. I'm shaking it together. I'm going to keep putting it in until it's running over, until you have more than you can carry. It's just all falling out because there's so much. That's the way God gives. And then He says this: "For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return." Now think, what is your standard of measure? How long is a long piece of rope? It just depends. So what's your standard of a lot? If your standard of a lot when it comes to giving is this guy, Andrew Jackson, a 20. You say, "Man, Lord, I gave you 20 bucks. I mean you should be really happy, Lord." Yeah, but you make $50,000 a year and you're giving 20 bucks a week. That's not that much. Well, that's your standard of measure. Now God will give back to those that give, but He gives based on your standard of measure. So you determine the amount of your blessing. If you think it's a lot to give 20 bucks, well then God goes off of that scale. But if you think it's a lot to give $2,000, then God goes off of that scale. See, if you give a teaspoonful, God gives a cupful. You give a cupful, and God gives a shovelful. You give a shovelful, and God gives a truckload full. By your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return. God blesses when you give. And I want to mention to you three critical areas of giving where God gives good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they pour into your lap. What does God want from you? See, some people think a message on giving is all about money. It's not all about money. In fact, money is not that huge a deal compared to some of the other things.
Larry Nobles: You’re listening to *From His Heart* with Pastor Jeff Schreve, and he’ll be back to conclude the message Givers and Takers in just a second. But first, the question: just like Iris Blue did, have you given yourself totally, completely to the King of Kings? We didn't want to let this point from Pastor Jeff pass without giving you an opportunity to really do some self-evaluation and see if you've really considered a surrender of yourself and an acceptance of Christ into your heart. Are you struggling today to find purpose and peace and joy and direction in your life? Have you struggled so long but just can't seem to ever find it? Well, God continues to wait for you to realize that Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life. He created you to know that you were created, to know that you are loved, to know that you have real purpose in this life besides fulfilling earthly desires. At From His Heart, we have a special extended section of our website called "Why Jesus." There you can discover real answers to your sincere questions about Christ: who He is, why He lived, suffered, died, and then rose again from the dead. In a nutshell, He did it so that you could have freedom and be forgiven and live eternally with a holy God. We invite you now to go to fromhisheart.org and simply click the tab that says "Why Jesus." Our prayer is that you'll discover a love and a peace in Christ that will move you from a taker to a giver and you can soar for Jesus. And also, when you're there, let us know of the decision you've made for Christ. Well, let’s conclude the lesson today, Givers and Takers, and the series *Attitude for Altitude*. Here again is Pastor Jeff.
Dr. Jeff Schreve: Secondly, when you give your service to Him, He gives His joy to you. It's not just I give myself to Him and I'm saved. Now God says, "Alright, now I want you to serve Me." And so when I give my service to the Lord, what does He do? He fills my heart with joy. So much joy that I have a hard time containing it. Do you have joy today? You know why a lot of Christians don't have any joy? Because takers don't have joy. Misers don't have joy. Misers are miserable. And if you're just holding onto everything, if you're one of these kind of people you grudgingly throw the Lord a bone every now and then and you don't give the Lord much in terms of service or anything like that, well you're not going to have joy. The people who give, they have the Lord's joy flowing through them because they're like a tributary that's sending water out. They're not like the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea doesn't send anything out; it just keeps everything in. And if you become like that as a Christian, you're a Dead Sea Christian. There's no joy there. It's just stagnant and still. So many Christians, they sit and they soak and they sour and they stink. Why? Because they're never giving out and they're not serving. Listen, give your time. Give your time to the Lord. We live in a day and age where life is busy. So busy. But you've got to say, "Hey, what is most important in my life? My time with the Lord." Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." So I seek the Lord first and I give Him first place. And I don't look at a service and my commitments on Sunday morning and say, "Well, you know it's raining. You know I'm tired. You know I've got a lot to do today." With most of us, so many of us, the Lord gets the leftovers all the time. All the time. Because we're not really serving Him. We're not giving Him the time. So give God time, the best part of your day, the first fruits. And secondly, give your talents. Your talents, your giftings to the Lord. Give that back to Him. 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 10 says, "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Use it. God gifts every one of His children to do specific ministry. And whatever gift you have, maybe it's teaching, maybe it's in communicating the message through song, maybe it's in mentoring young people, maybe it's in working with babies and working with little kids, maybe it's working behind the scenes and helping with this or that, maybe it's just you are just such a wonderful person, you never meet a stranger, you are just awesome when it comes to the initial meeting point. Man, those are great gifts. Give your time, give your talents, give your testimony, give your witness for the Lord. Speak up for the Lord. Tell people about Him. Because God doesn't want to do great things. God wants to speak to hearts and God wants to use you to do it. And there's nothing greater than knowing God used my life. My life to make a difference in this person's life. This person is going to heaven because God chose to use me and allowed me to have a part in seeing that person come to know Christ. Man, it's like getting saved all over again. It is so awesome when that happens. And He wants to use us in greater ways. If your joy is low today, it could be you're not plugging in, you're not giving. You've become the Dead Sea. Take, take, take. People who are focused on themselves, they're not giving anything. They're just takers. And they're wondering why people don't call them and why people don't come over and why people don't do for them and why people don't give them love and encouragement and things like that. It's because you reap what you sow. And if you're not sowing any of those things, you're not going to reap any of those things. Give and it will be given to you. God says, "Hey, I will give you joy, unspeakable joy, if you will start serving Me." And then when you bring, when you give your money to Him, He gives back to you. It's yourself, that's what the Lord wants most of all. It's your service. And it's your money. And when the Lord says, "Hey, if you will honor Me from your wealth, I will honor you. I'll give back to you. I will meet your needs." I read something this week from Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill in Seattle. He said, "I understand this." He was talking to his church. He said, "I understand this: that the last thing to get saved in a person's life is his wallet." Pretty true. Most people, that's the last thing. But listen, this is what has floated through my mind for years: for God so loved that He gave. When you and I really love God, we want to give to the Lord. We want to do that. Listen, God can have your money without your heart, but He can't have your heart without your money. They're attached. Man, when I married Debbie, I said, "Debbie, I love you with all my heart." And all my money came to her when she got my heart. She got everything. You know, I could have given her money without my heart, but once she had my heart, it was everything. And whatever I have is yours because I love you. And so that is the way it's supposed to be with the Lord. "Lord, I love You, and I'm going to give to You generously and cheerfully. Why? Because You saved me and You own me, and I am Yours." Malachi 3:10, a great verse in the Old Testament where the Lord says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse." I believe the storehouse is the local church today. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house and test me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." See, that's the test. That's the test of your faith. God says, "Listen, you people," He was talking to His Old Testament people, "have been robbing Me." They were giving God the leftovers. They were giving God the dollars and keeping the hundreds. And He said, "I see what you're doing. I know what you're doing. I'm not blind here. Will a man rob God? Certainly not. But you're robbing Me." You say, "How have we robbed?" In the tithes and offerings. You're cursed with a curse, the whole nation of you, because you're robbing Me. And that's when He said, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. All of it. All of the 10 percent that belongs to God. Offerings are above the 10 percent. You bring the whole tithe into the storehouse and God says, 'You test Me. You test Me to see if I won't open up the windows of heaven and I'll pour out a blessing—good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over—they will pour into your lap. You're not going to be able to contain the blessing that will come if you will take Me at My word.'" Listen, I have talked to lots of tithers, and I've never heard one person say, "Well, you know, I wish I had never tithed because God didn't come through." Every person I know that's tithed has said, "God does just like He said. God comes through. God provides. God meets my needs." Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." That verse is sandwiched in the context of giving. And if you will become a giver, God says, "I will meet your needs. Anything that you have, I'll take care of it. Because the one who honors Me, him will I honor." How's your attitude about giving? Have you given yourself to the Lord yet? Have you ever really just abandoned, surrendered your heart to Him? Today's the day to do that. Are you serving? Are you giving your service to Him, your time, your talent, your testimony? Today's the day to make that commitment and to give that to Him. Hey, are you being faithful in the little that He's given you? Are you honoring Him from your wealth? Are you bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse? Listen, God's plan about giving is not a plan to impoverish you; it's a plan to enrich you. It's a plan that opens up the windows of heaven so that He can pour out a blessing on you. Now here's the question: will you believe the Lord and will you take Him at His word? It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Larry Nobles: So, what grade would you give your attitude about giving today? It's an important question that will say much more about your heart than you or I could ever imagine. Well, we hope that you've benefited from today's lesson called Givers and Takers. It's from the last series we've aired this month called *Attitude for Altitude*, and you can get the whole series online when you go to fromhisheart.org, click the listen link. When you're there, we'd like to ask you to consider a gift to From His Heart this month. And for that gift, we'd like to say thank you by sending you Pastor Jeff's series *Life Goes On: How to Face a New Normal* and the companion full-length book, *Life Interrupted*. Both resources for your gift to help From His Heart this month. Call 866-40-BIBLE, 866-40-BIBLE, or go to fromhisheart.org. Well, that's all for today. I'm Larry Nobles, and a big thank you for joining us. We trust you'll be right back here tomorrow when Pastor Jeff begins another brand new impactful series. It's called *Faith Under Fire*, a study of the book of Jude. Be with us then when Pastor Jeff Schreve will open up God's word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from His heart.