Generosity | All In
ALL IN
Generosity
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT) 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NLT) “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope… If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Matthew 22:37 (NLT) 37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
Soul Tattoo: Our God is an all-in God, and He has empowered us to be all-in people.
Soul Tattoo: My character impacts my culture.
Following God is a process of growth, maturity and transformation.
What is GENEROSITY? The quality of being kind or generous. 1828 Webster’s Dictionary…A quality of the heart or mind opposed to meanness or parsimony.
Generous: Showing kindness to others. Showing a readiness to give more of something, as money or time, than is strictly or necessary or expected. Larger or more plentiful than is usual or necessary.
Soul Tattoo: True generosity is shown when we freely offer our time, talent, and treasure to make a difference in the lives of others.
John 3:16-17 (ESV) 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
- Be All-In with Your Time.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV) 15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
- Be All-In with Your Talent.
1 Peter 4:10-11 (NLT) 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
- Be All-In with Your Treasure.
Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“Tell me what you think about money, and I will tell you what you think about God, for these two are closely related. A man’s heart is closer to his wallet than anything else.” Dr. Billy Graham
Soul Tattoo: True generosity is shown when we freely offer our time, talent, and treasure to make a difference in the lives of others.
The ultimate purpose of our lives is to make a difference.
Legacy: What people remember once we’re gone.
God says…
Psalm 112:5-6 (NIV) Good will come to those who are generous and lends freely… they will be remembered forever.
Psalm 112:5 (NIV) Good will come to those who are generous and lends freely…
Legacy: What God remembers when we’re gone.
Hebrews 6:10 (NIV) 10God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
Romans 14:10-12 (NIV) 10You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ” 12So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
There’s more to life than this life.
YOLO: You only live once. Popularized by DRAKE.
YOLT: You only live twice. Body dies and you’ll be immediately in the presence of the Lord.
Hebrews 9:27 (NIV) …man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.
- What did you do with My Son Jesus?
Revelation 20:11-12 (NIV) Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.’”
The Right Answer: “I knew Him personally.”
- What did you do with what I gave you?
2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Matthew 16:27 (NIV) For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Revelation 22:12 (NIV) And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.
The Right Answer: “I used what you gave me to make an eternal difference.”
EROI: The Eternal Return on Investment
Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV) Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
“Money represents your time, your energy, your talents, your total personality converted into currency. We usually hold on to it tenaciously, yet it is uncertain in value and we cannot take it into the next world.” Dr. Billy Graham
If I am ALL-IN with GENEROSITY I will be intentional.
- Intentionally give.
2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV) You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
“If you don’t tell your money where to go, you’ll wonder where it went.”
Five Things We Can Do With Money…Master Your Money, Ron Blue
- Spend it. Me first.
- Repay debt. Creditors second.
- Pay taxes. Government third.
- Save it. Me fourth.
- Give it. Others last.
1 Corinthians 16:2 (NIV) On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
“There is nothing wrong with men possessing riches. The wrong comes when riches possess men.” Dr. Billy Graham
- Intentionally serve.
1 Timothy 6:18-19 (TLB) Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven–it is the only safe investment for eternity!
- Intentionally share Christ.
James 5:19-20 (NLT) My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
Luke 15:10 (MSG) “Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”
I will never miss what I invest in eternity.
The ultimate purpose of my life is to make a difference.
Soul Tattoo: True generosity is shown when we freely offer our time, talent, and treasure to make a difference in the lives of others.