THE LAW OF GENEROSITY

0:03 Well, it is the Christmas season. And in this time, it's when we begin to think about giving. But giving is not a seasonal event. Giving or being generous is a lifestyle. A lifestyle that activates a biblical principle that I call the law of generosity. When I was in my early twenties, I saw this law of generosity play out in a most unexpected way. I was a student at the time and I was driving to class. In fact, basically living out of my car because I would drive to class and then from there drive to the job that I had. And then back to this one, one room, little one room efficiency apartment that I lived in and then repeat the process. the very next day. And during that time, I had a good friend. She was soon to be married, and she was raised as a single child by a single mother. Her father had abandoned both her and her mother when she was a very small child. Well, several months before her wedding, her mother had a tragic accident and died. And this friend of mine now was alone and facing a wedding that Quite frankly, she could not afford at all.

1:31 And I remember thinking about this driving to class when the thought popped into my head, give her $50. I was in my early twenties. I'd never done anything like that in my life. Never even had a thought like that before. And ordinarily I would have immediately dismissed it because I probably had about a hundred dollars in my checking account and I couldn't afford to do it as far as I was concerned. But I didn't do that this time. I wrote a checkout for $50 and gave it to her and really didn't give much thought afterwards. A month later, I discovered an envelope in my mailbox, an envelope that was made out to me with no return address. And when I opened up the envelope, to my surprise, was a cashier's check made out to me for $500. I'm looking at this check going, whoa, it might as well have been a million. I was so excited, but I was asking the inevitable question, why me? And why now? Where did this come from? And in that very moment, I heard in my head, like a loud echo, you will never out give me.

2:57 I didn't really understand that other than I'm looking at the check for $500. And then I remembered the $50 that I had given a month earlier. It was my first foray, if you will, into this biblical law, the law of generosity. And here's what I need you to understand today. Generosity is a law that God has built into the world that he has created. Like the natural law of gravity, this supernatural law of generosity activates God's economy. And there is a proverb that I think captures this in a very simplistic way that any and all of us can grasp. It's found in Proverbs 11. This is how it reads. One gives freely, yet grows all the richer. Another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. Now, looking at that proverb, you can obviously see that there are two kinds of people that are being revealed. There is one that gives freely.

4:14 this one is the one we say open-handed they're a giver whereas the other one withholds what they should give this one is closed-fisted a taker and the question that is before all of us today is this which one are you are you open-handed or are you closed-fisted and when you look at this text let's begin with the open-handed person because that's where it begins. That open-handed person is one that gives freely yet grows all the more richer. In other words, he gains more. And these people are marked by three characteristics. And the first is this, they have a selfless heart. In other words, they're not thinking about themselves. They are thinking about others. the text says they give freely. They want to bless those around them and they look for opportunities to be generous and they take advantage when those opportunities present themselves. They never let a generosity moment go to waste. They're generous, not just with their finances, even though this text, I might add, is primarily dealing with finances, but open-handed people are generous with their time, with their words, with their stuff, and they're generous beginning with their family. They're generous with their friends. They're generous with people that they don't even know. And most importantly, they're generous with their church, their church family. This is who they are. They are open-handed. And because they're open-handed, that generosity leads to that second characteristic, which is a wealth mentality. They do not lack. They have what they need. They give, yet they gain more. And I know that does not make any sense. It is not logical

6:21 that if you have something and you give it away, you are now less one thing than you had when you started. But you have got to get this. In the economy of God, it works this way. When you give, you're going to receive back. Jesus made that quite clear when he said, give and it will be given to you. I don't know that it needs to be any simpler. Give and it will be given unto you. This, my friends, is the law of generosity. And this is what I was hearing when I was staring at that $500 check, remembering the $50 that I had given earlier. And then that voice echoing in my head, you will never out give me. There is a wealth mentality. And because of that, it leads to the third characteristic, there is a confident outlook or to coin our fellowship word. There is confidence, meaning that you now look to God and you trust God because you know that God is your source. And because you play by God's rules, you know that you are going to win. And I'm telling you, that will give you a very confident outlook. But on the other hand, you've got the closed fisted person. Remember from the text, this is the one that withholds what they should give and they suffer want. And they too have three characteristics. Unlike the open-handed person who is self less. The closed fisted person is selfish. They have a selfish heart, meaning they're only thinking of themselves. They're only wanting to take care of themselves. Therefore they withhold.

8:20 They do not give what they should, but rather they keep for themselves. They are in a word stingy. They are the consummate tightwad. And because we're in the Christmas season, they are indeed the Christmas Scrooge. That's who they are. And unlike open-handed people who had that generosity MO, let me show you what closed-fisted people, what is their MO? It's real easy. This is what it is. Get all you can, can all you get, sit on the can, and poison the rest. That's what they do.

9:07 They don't think about others. All they're thinking is themselves and they withhold, they hoard, and they will not let go with what they have. They stick it in whatever can they think they need to stick it in and sit on that can. And you've got to understand God wants what you have in circulation, but they're not going to do that. And as a result, the second characteristic, they have a poverty mentality. Their unwillingness to give creates a mindset of scarcity. It doesn't matter how much they have in their mind, they never have enough. And that mindset of lack leads them to hoard and it brings about the very poverty they fear. They are poor, not necessarily in financial assets or even in material things. They are really poor where it matters in relationships and with people around them. And even more importantly, in their own walk and relationship with God, their spiritual growth. They are people that are never, ever content. They are driven by the mindset that enough is never enough. And it leads to that third characteristic. They have a negative outlook on life. They are anxious about the future. They are certain, dead certain that misfortune is coming. It's going to cause serious financial and emotional setback. And so instead of praying without ceasing, they worry without ceasing. And believe me, that is no way to live.

10:57 So I come back to where I started. Which person are you? are you open-handed? Are you the giver? Or are you closed-fisted the taker? And if you are leaning more toward that closed-fisted person, the taker, the Bible has something very, very liberating to say to you. And this is where it begins. You need to choose to be a giver. I use the word choose on purpose because giving does not just happen automatically. You have to make a conscious choice to be a giver. You choose to be generous with what you have, or otherwise that is never going to happen. Paul writing to the church at Corinth said something very, very interesting. He writes this, just as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, see that you excel in this grace of giving. Did you catch that? What he's saying is, if you are going to be outstanding in one thing, then let generosity be the benchmark.

12:26 Let it be the thing that people point to in your life. That man, that woman, they are generous. Excel in giving. And when you choose to be that giver, here's what happens. You will begin to develop the habit of generosity. And when you begin to develop that habit of generosity, it becomes a lifestyle and you activate the law of generosity. And this is what is so significant. When you activate that law, you're going to see amazing stuff that happens in your life. Remember the proverb said, one man, the open-handed man, he gives freely and yet grows all the richer. Or to put it in Jesus' words, give and it will be given to you. In God's economy, people, you reap what you sow. In other words, your reaping is in direct proportion to what you sow.

13:29 If you sow little, you reap little. If you sow big, you reap big. That's how it works. And people, this is not me talking. This is the word of God talking again, Paul writing to the church at Corinth, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows generously will also reap generously. The point is this, when you give, God gives back. and as I learned and I'm hoping for many of you and I think some of you in here already know this but I'm hoping for so many of you you're going to learn that when you give God gives back and you will never ever be able to out give God but then people will ask me Tracy do you give just to get it sounds kind of selfish. That sounds like you're saying something like the prosperity gospel.

14:37 And my answer is no. Watch this. I give to get to give more. I give to get to give more. It's a cycle people. And it never stops. It is your life. It is who you are. The focus is not me and what I can get. The focus is how I can bless you with what God has entrusted with me. That's the point. But when I give, I know automatically I'm going to activate the law of generosity. God is going to give back. And I cannot stop that law from happening any more than I can stop gravity from happening. If I jump off this stage, I assure you, and I'm not going to do it, I will land on the floor. Well, the same thing's true when I give. God is going to give back and open-handed people get this. They understand this. And again, Paul writing to the church at Corinth, God loves a person who gives cheerfully. That word cheerfully is the Greek word hilaros. We get our English word hilarious from it. Literally what it's saying is God loves a person who gives hilariously. They can't wait to give. This is the coolest thing in their life is to give. That's what it's all about. God loves cheerful givers because God knows what will happen when they are freely giving. They are going to be blessed and in turn, they're going to be a blessing to others. And watch this. This is really cool. Paul says that we, that God loves those who give cheerfully. The very next words that he pens are this, and God will generously provide all you

16:47 need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. I give to get to give more. I give to get to give more. That's how it works. And when you understand that dynamic, what happens is generosity will advance confidence because generosity is one of the best ways to see your heavenly father working tangibly in your life. You can point to things he did this. He did this. He did that. Just like I can point to a story 50 years ago, a story that is real to me today as it was 50 years ago. But I've got lots more of those stories to tell. They're what I call ghost stories, holy ghost stories. It is God working in my life because this is how this thing works. It's not about me. It's about those that I can blast. And as I do, God is going to just continue to do what God does. And the more we do this, the more stories we have, and the more that we see God doing what he's doing in our life, the more confidence that we have in our father, the more that we can trust him. It is so amazing. And I think back to that $50 gift that turned into 500. And it was the first of many, many lessons that I've learned over the years.

18:30 And I have to say, in all honesty, I have an advantage over you, most of you in this room. And that advantage is I'm older than you. I don't say that because I'm proud of being older. It's just that I have more stories to tell because I've been around longer. You'll have them too if you'll activate this law, but only you can do that. I can't do that for you. This adventure began with me, this biblical law called generosity. It began when I gave that $50, something that really at the time I couldn't believe that I did it. And then a month later, I'm staring at a $500 check and I'm hearing in my head, you will never out give me. And people, that's not just true for me.

19:31 That's true for you as well. It's true because God said it so. It's true because his word says it so. When you put generosity into action, your life then will begin to experience and validate that truth. This morning, I brought with me a gift. It's a check inside the generosity envelope. I made this check out for $500. I could give more, but I did this on purpose. it's a reminder of the $500 50 years ago that began this journey in my life and I want for you to begin to experience the same journey because it's there for you if you will put into action, if you will activate the law of generosity.

20:40 We're going to receive our offering in just a moment, and it will be a perfect time for some of you to begin to step out in this way. I realize that many in here give online. I do too. And I realize you didn't come today prepared to do such a thing. But I'm not just saying this today I'm also saying this to you for next week, for next year, for the whole scope of your life. You will excel in the grace of giving. And before I stop, let me say this. There are some of you in here. Actually, you need to start with yourself by giving of yourself. And by that I mean is you've not come into a faith relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And what you're really needing to do, your beginning point is by giving you, by saying, Jesus, you are Lord. And my life is now submitted to you. And I declare that you are Lord. This is where it all begins.

21:53 and then you begin to walk out that life and the adventure, oh, the adventure will be amazing. Let's pray. Father, I thank you so much for your grace, for the way in which you've touched our lives, for all of us that get this, that understand this, and for those that don't. I'm just so thankful for the many ways you've blessed. And Lord, I am so keenly aware there are things we're not even aware of that you've done in our life, that one day we will. And I'm praying for all of us that we would start to really see this whole thing of the law of generosity so that we could begin to participate in it. And then for those of you that have yet to really call on Jesus as Lord, you just tell him right now, I give myself to you starting right now. And I declare Jesus you are Lord and I submit my life to your Lordship. I now walk with you.

23:07 Father, I thank you for these people. I thank you for all that you're doing. I thank you for this church. I thank you for what it means to me, what it's meant to my family over so many decades. gates. And I know so many of us out here could say the same. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. In Jesus name. Amen.