The Joy of Abundant Generosity By David Wood

The first reason that it doesn't come naturally to us is this, the reason that we fail, is that we believe the lie that the joy of giving is only for the ultra wealthy. Some of us have that belief. You know what? When I have so much money that I don't even know what to do with, that's when I'm gonna start giving to God. That's when I'm gonna start making a difference in our world with the finances that have been entrusted to me. But I've got good news for you today. That's a lie. [00:07:53] (36 seconds)  #GivingIsForEveryone

No matter what name you may have self diagnosed yourself today, I wanna encourage you, don't be any longer, by the grace of God, don't be any longer, never never get around to it, Nancy. But instead, become abundantly generous, Don't be left over as Larry. Giving to God if you happen to feel like you could spare a $100 bill here or there. Become abundantly generous Larry because Jesus is abundantly generous Jesus. When we're generous with our whole selves, we look like Jesus. We experience lasting joy, and we lay up treasures in heaven. So, yes, God's vision for you and God's vision for our entire church, for every one of us, is that we would give until it hurts because we know we will experience joy. [00:43:00] (62 seconds)  #GiveAbundantlyLikeJesus

To go above and beyond in the way that we're generous with our time, with our family. God wants us to be generous in that area. God wants us to be generous in serving at church. God wants us to be seeking him and growing in maturity. And God says, if you wanna experience his best and his blessing in this life, he invites you to be a part of that favor worth begging for, living generously like Jesus and giving to him. Jesus was abundantly generous that we might become generous as well. And so I wanna ask you, is his extreme grace making your heart abundantly generous? [00:44:02] (45 seconds)  #GenerosityInAllAreas

Christians who truly understand just how abundant God's grace, his immeasurable riches that he has given to us, we will mature and become generous in all areas of life. I love the way that the hymn writer, Alvina Hall, said it. She said this, Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. It's an amazing principle. Jesus paid everything. We don't owe any spiritual debt anymore. We don't deserve to go to hell anymore. God's wrath no longer is destined to come onto us. Instead, we're walking in abundance of his grace and of his love. [00:17:18] (56 seconds)  #GracePaidItAll

It's an amazing opportunity that we have to be able to look as the Bible tells us, to look to the future and to laugh, knowing God is in control. He is the one who provides for us. He's the one who gave you your job. He's the one who made sure that paycheck came through. He's the one who made sure you have your home. That all the things that we have and that we need, God provides for us. And so we are called to take that step of faith and to be engaged in financial generosity. [00:15:51] (36 seconds)  #FaithOverFearFinance

Jesus was more concerned about what it was that you would receive than what it was that he was going to go without for that season. It's amazing for Jesus to show that love to us. And and really what's happening here is we're we're getting this idea. God's grace knows no bounds. He gives so relentlessly to us. If we really knew how much he's given to us and how much we can trust him in the future, we would not be holding on to that, what's it called, almighty dollar as tightly as we do. [00:21:23] (44 seconds)  #GraceOverMoney

Now you may be here today and you say, okay. I understand. Yeah. I've struggled in this area. It doesn't come naturally to me. I wanna honor God with every part of my life, but what is God's vision for me? What is God's vision for my finances? I've got some plans. I'm saving up for some things. I'm trying to pay off some debts. What is God's plan for me in the area of finances? Well, God's word teaches us our second principle this morning, which is that Christians who understand God's abundant grace become generous. [00:16:38] (39 seconds)  #GraceTransformsFinances

Those Macedonians, as impoverished as they were, they hardly had, what do they say, 2 nickels to rub together. But they were begging for the opportunity to give. Begging for the chance to be a part of caring for the others within God's church. Here's what we see in second Corinthians chapter eight verse two. It says this. And this is about the Macedonians. In a severe test of affliction, even in that painful time, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. [00:10:15] (49 seconds)  #JoyfulGenerosity