The Lost Art of Generosity: Part 4
SERMON TRANSCRIPT
If you haven't been around or maybe you've missed a week, just a reminder we are in our Generosity series. We called it The Lost Art of Generosity and I kind of love this title. I didn't come up with that so I can say it. I really like this title because I think that generosity in our culture has gotten a little lost and it really is like an art form. It's how we give, where we give, how much we ... All of it, it plays into it and it's a very nuanced conversation. I love that we are talking about this and trying to regain this lost art. I know so many generous people. Even in our time here at Spring Valley, I've just been blown away by ... It is just a church filled with generous people. Our family just alone has been the recipients of your guys' generosity. I think that while maybe many of us are naturally generous, there are parts of this conversation that perhaps we struggle with and we could use a refresher because the reality is we live in a world that is a consumer culture. We have multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and we have influencers and we have social media and it is all about getting more. We are told that we need more, that we don't have enough. I think this whole conversation, this whole series is such a good refresher for us. As a reminder, we have gone over. The first week we talked about how there is more joy in giving than in receiving. If you have generously given, you've experienced that, that there is more joy in giving than receiving. Next week we talked about being on the lookout for greed and how in our world of telling us we need more, greed can just be so sneaky that we don't feel like we have enough and we need more. We've got to be on guard against greed. Then last week we talked about how everything we have belongs to God. It is all from Him and so therefore we can be generous because it's His anyways and He can do with it and have us in obedience do with it whatever He pleases.
If you've been here, we've had some discussion questions. We're going to circle up at our tables here and have one more discussion question. Our question for today is how has our Western culture and even the American dream impacted how we practice the art of generosity? Circle up, chat about it a little bit, share your thoughts.
I'm going to call us back together. I hope your discussions were good and fruitful. I'm actually, I mean, I'm very interested to hear what you guys came up with so come tell me after service. But one answer that I felt like I came up with for me in answer to this question was that our culture, our Western culture and even the American dream can really limit us in our generosity to the poor specifically. So that is our topic today is how and why are we generous, should we be generous to the poor? If you're like me, maybe you hear the topic of this and you're like, I mean, I know we're supposed to be generous to the poor but how are we going to have a whole sermon on this? Well, let me tell you, the Bible has a lot to say about it. Just a quick Google search on scriptures about generosity and about specifically caring for the poor were seemingly endless. I could just stand up here and just read scripture to you the whole time. I won't but I could because there's so much that the Bible and that Jesus has to say about it. Jesus encouraged generous living but he also encouraged his followers to care for the poor. But the idea of this didn't start with Jesus in the New Testament, it started in the Old Testament. If we look back on the Old Testament and when God was creating the nation of Israel, he instructed Moses to teach the people how to live generously. In Deuteronomy 15:10 it says, "Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart," it's important, "then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to." So right off the bat, he's creating the nation of Israel and he's like, "You're going to live generously." But then if you continue on in the Old Testament, there are Proverbs and Psalms and in the prophets they talk more and more about caring for the poor. I'm just going to do a little rapid fire here. Proverbs 21:13, "Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered." Proverbs 21:25, "The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing." Proverbs 11, "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched and the one who waters will himself be watered." When we are blessing, we will be blessed. Proverbs 14, "Whoever is kind to the needy honors God." I could go on and on, we'll just stop there for now. But there's so much packed into the Word of God because God is generous. It is part of who he is. It is his heart for the widow and the orphan and the one who is in need. I think most, if not all of us, desire to be generous.
We want to have a heart of generosity, but putting it into practice, I think, can be a struggle for some of us. And if that's not a struggle for you, praise God. I love that for you. I want all of us to be like that, but I think that it can be really hard for some of us. There can be some resistance. Maybe it's because of how we grew up, maybe how we were taught about money. Maybe we have this idea of the American dream, like you pull yourself up out of your bootstraps and you earn your way and that's yours. Or maybe it's just you don't know where this money is going to go. If you give to someone on the street, you don't know how they're going to spend it. And that can be really hard for us to relinquish that control. And we have to be wise in how we give. We have to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to be sure. But we can't let these limitations or these hindrances stop us from being obedient and giving to the poor. So whether this is a tough topic for you or not, I pray that this time together will be encouraging and it'll be a good refresher for all of us. So really our overarching question today is why should we give to the poor? I think we all kind of know this intellectually, but I want to dive deep in why specifically we as Christ followers should be giving to the poor. But before we really get into the nitty-gritty of that, we have to answer the question, who are the poor? It's the first question. Who's the poor? Who are we talking about? Who are we talking about? So let's answer that question first. Well, thankfully for us, the author of Luke, it also authored the book of Acts. And so we're going to look at Acts 4. I'm going to actually jump to verse 34. And it says, "For from time to time, those who own land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet. And it was distributed to anyone who had need." So the poor, Luke tells us, is anyone who had need. Earlier, it says that there were no needy persons among them. So it was the poor were needy persons or someone who had need. This could be just about anybody in different circumstances. But if there is anyone who has need around you, then there is work to do. As a Christ follower, we have work to do. This person who is in need could be kind of the natural person that comes to mind, maybe someone who is in a third-world country, who doesn't have access to maybe clean water or food regularly. It could be someone you've encountered maybe on a missions trip. It could be homeless or someone who is in need through seeking rehabilitation for addiction or maybe they're seeking help for an unplanned pregnancy. These can be kind of some of those people who are in need that we naturally think of. And those are. Those are the poor and the ones in need that Jesus is talking about and that the scriptures talk about. In the US, I did a little research for us, in the US, nearly 16% of children live in poverty. And food insecurity affects around 33.8 million people, including over 9 million children. That's just in the US. And we're a wealthy nation. So that's crazy to me. Globally, over 828 million people go to bed hungry every night and nearly 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. 2 billion people. That is a wild statistic to me.
So maybe it is those people that we think of when we think of the poor or those in need. And maybe it's someone that you are close to. Maybe it's a friend or a family member that is struggling. Maybe they're in between jobs or just got laid off and they need help paying the bills or getting some groceries and putting some food on the table. Maybe they're going through a really tough season and they could just really use a good cup of coffee and a listening ear. Maybe you have a neighbor who is elderly and physically can't care for their lawn or you could cook them a nice meal and take it to them. Because they are in need of that. They are in need all around us. And please hear me, this doesn't mean you individually have to meet every single need. But we are all called to do something. We are all called to give to the poor.
So back to our first question. We know who the poor are now, but why should we as Christ followers give to those in need? We give to those in need because one, it's an expectation of those who follow Jesus. At first I didn't really like this word expectation. I was like, oh, it feels like cringey to me. But the reality is it is. It is an expectation of those who follow Jesus. Second Corinthians 9:6-11 says, "Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." There it is again. "And God is able to bless you abundantly so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written, they have freely scattered their gifts to the poor. Their righteousness endures forever. Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, God, will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. And through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." There's a lot packed in here, but what I want to focus on is that it's an expectation. It's an understanding. Paul here is writing assuming that the church, the people he's writing to, are already giving, that this is already a thing that they're doing. He says, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart." They've already decided what they're going to give. It wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of how much. It was already an expectation that the people of Jesus were going to live generously. They were going to give. Even though we know and we see that generosity and caring for the poor is a command in scripture, it is an expectation of God's people, it's not out of this compulsion or erode obedience. It is out of an overflow of a surrendered heart. Paul expects that the people are giving and that they're doing it with joy, that they're a cheerful giver, that they're doing it freely, not out of compulsion, and that they're doing it because of who they are in Christ. Because God is generous and we were made in His image, that was also put into us. We are made to be generous. Paul is not questioning whether we will give, just how much. He also assures us in this passage that God will provide for our needs. He will enrich us to continue the kingdom work He's already called us to do. Giving to the poor is expected and it will bring glory to God. He will take care of our needs as we live generously. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. He's not going to call us to be generous to the poor and then leave us hanging. But it's an expectation of all of us who call Jesus our Lord.
We give to those in need because it supports the body of Christ. We're going to go back to our Acts 4 passage and read a little bit longer because this is the early church. This is talking about the first church and how they lived. So I'm going to read this for us again. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet. And it was distributed to anyone who had need. The government at this time, the Roman government at this time, didn't have any sort of system in place or programs to care for the poor. And as far as I understand it, it wasn't like even on their radar. Like this was not something they were worried about or looking to solve the problem of. So it wasn't, to them, it wasn't a government responsibility or political responsibility. And so if the poor were going to be taken care of, it was going to be done by the church, by the people of God, those who follow Jesus. But the beautiful thing is that they lived in such a way that they were able to meet those needs. They didn't claim their possessions as their own. They lived in community. They served one another. They made sure everyone had what they needed. And it was by God's grace. It says God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. So it was God's grace, His all-sufficient, all-powerful grace paired with their obedient communal living where they distributed as anyone had need. And there was no needy among them. That is so wild to me that they were able to do that, that everyone had what they needed. I love this verse, though, too, because, or this section of scripture, because a lot of our reasons for not giving to the poor are addressed here. I think the main two reasons are that we have a desire for more. We want to keep for ourselves. Maybe we just want to store up for ourselves or make sure our family is provided.
Or two, it is out of fear of lack or scarcity. And so this verse, or these verses fly right in the face of that because we're not meant to just consume. We're not meant to only gain for ourselves. We are meant to share. We are meant to be generous. And we have no reason to fear because the scripture says that by God's grace, we will have all that we need. So those two arguments are null and void if we live by what the word of the God says. When we give generously to those in need, it builds up and it supports the body. It allows kingdom work to continue. Because the reality is when a part of the body is hurting or in need, the whole body is less effective. I think of like our physical bodies. When we have something that is wrong, an injury or maybe a chronic issue, I get occasionally, thankfully it's not very often, but occasionally I will get these headaches that take me out. And I need to like lay down. I need a hot pack. I need some medicine. I need some water. I need to close my eyes. And I basically become useless at parenting, at taking care of the house, at cooking. I just need a minute to lay down. And I become virtually useless because I am so focused on my current need. So when there is someone in the spiritual body of Christ who has a need, we all are crippled in a way. We become less effective. And so then when we as a church meet that need, not only are we being the church and being obedient to what God has called us to, but then we allow that person to also become effective because they no longer have that need. It has been met. And they can be effective once again for the kingdom. One statistic I read said that if all Christians, all of those that follow, claim to follow Jesus, gave 10% of their income, there would be over $1 trillion available annually to tackle global issues. That's a trill- trillion. Annually, just year over year, it would be another trillion the next year. If every Christ-following believer just gave 10%, whether that's to the local church or to an organization or a cause, to maybe sponsoring a child, whatever that looks like, gave 10%, there would be over a trillion dollars available to tackle some of these issues we talked about earlier. I'm no math whiz, but I feel like a trillion dollars would do some damage, right? Taking care of some of these people who need some water. That would be amazing. And that's not even counting the non-religious groups that are contributing to the solution of the problem. God wants us to be generous to those in need.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, we give to those in need because Christ gave to us first. One of my favorite passages in scriptures, Philippians 2, starting in verse 3, it says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God, something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross." Jesus gave up the wealth of heaven to be generous to us. He had everything at his fingertips. As the creator of the universe, he lacked nothing. And yet he came to earth, he took on human form, he humbled himself, and he gave so abundantly and so generously to us. When we operate from that truth, when we start there and operate from the fact that Jesus gave to us first, it not only compels us, but then it propels us to be generous to the poor because we were the poor. We were the ones in need. We were the ones who need saving. So we give out of love because we were loved first. I want to be clear, we don't give to the poor out of pity or some savior complex that we think we can save them or save the world that they even need saving. That's Jesus's job. We give out of love, out of compassion, out of a heart for generosity because we have a savior that loved us and came to us, that gave up the wealth of heaven for us. So maybe our question today isn't so much why should we give to the poor. Maybe the question we need to wrestle with is what's stopping me from giving to the poor generously, or giving more if that's something you already do. What is stopping me from giving to the poor more generously? I encourage you to reflect on this question this week. Talk about it with a friend or your spouse. Bring it to the Lord. Ask Him to bring up anything in your heart that is resisting this idea. Ask Him to give you a heart of generosity because we know it's clearly commanded in scripture. It's obviously an expectation of Christ's followers. We understand how it can meet practical needs and we can see how Jesus so generously gave to us first. So what is holding us back? What is stopping us? Ask the Lord to reveal that to you and to give you opportunity to serve and to give generously to those who are in need.
Pray with me. Jesus, we thank you for who you are. We thank you that you were generous and loved us first and that out of that love we in turn can go be loving and generous to others. God help remind us of the gift that we have received to be so consumed with gratefulness for it that we turn around and in turn out of a surrendered heart to you we go and we give to anyone who has need. Help us to trust you. Help us to be courageous in this and be trusting you in this and guide us in where and how and how much you want us to give, Lord. We praise you for who you are in your name. Amen.