Faithful Generosity: Trusting God in Tight Times

1. "Well, I want to jump right into our word today. Today, we launch a new series called Tight But Right. Anybody ever here had a tight situation in your life? Some of you all may say, it's tight right now, Pastor. You know, I'm looking at the, you know, I'm a CNN junkie and an ESPN junkie. When I'm reading ESPN and CNN, they tell me that things are getting better. But in the midst of telling me things are getting better, I say, y 'all should have told the folks at Destiny because they don't really recognize that things have gotten better. Amen." [00:30:50] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "And the question becomes, how do you respond? Here's the reality. You will find yourself in one of three places when things become tight. For some of you all, things are tight right now. For some of you all, you just came out of a season where things were tight. But don't worry, just keep on living. Some of you all are moving toward a season where things will be tight. Whether it is personally, it's in your business, it's in the company you work for, things will get tight. The question is not if things will get tight. The question becomes, what is your theology for tight times?" [00:31:56] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "God wants us always to respond with a biblical theology. Help us, Lord. God wants us to respond in such a way where we glorify him, no matter what transpires in our lives. Amen? I want to take a different approach to our sermon today. Instead of making declarations, I want to pose five questions to you all to develop your biblical theology. Amen? Your biblical... Okay, y 'all didn't say amen. Okay, let me tell you, you're cute. I preach. Your cue is amen. Okay, there we go. I don't know if we're on the same page right already. So when things get tight, we often wonder what's right." [00:32:45] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "I want to work on our biblical theology today. There is a promise, and there is a premise. The promise is found in Philippians chapter 4, and it says, Our God shall provide, for all of our needs, all of our needs, all of our needs, all of our needs. Our God shall supply for all of our needs according to his riches and glory. How many of y 'all really believe that today? You say, well, all of his promises are yes and amen, and you sing and you clap. And how many of you all really believe that God shall supply all of our needs according to his riches and glory?" [00:35:02] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "See, guys, we often think that God is looking at the amount of your gift, but God is looking at the heart of your gift. See, sometimes when somebody writes a check, it may be a big check to you, but it may not be a big check to them. It all seems to be relative. Amen. What's a large bill to you may not be a large bill to me. See, when you go to McDonald's, Kentucky, for example, and you go to McDonald's, you go to McDonald's, you go to McDonald's, fried chicken, pot pies, chipotle, and you spend $25, you think you done spent a lot of money." [00:43:14] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "You ought to really believe that our God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all we can ask, think, or imagine. You ought to really believe that our God owns the cattle of a thousand hills, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. You ought to believe that when you give, he's able to give, press down, press together, rolling over in your bosom. You ought to believe that God is a God, not just of resource. Our God is the source. Amen? You ought to believe that, boy, you cannot out-give God." [00:44:01] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "God is interested in our giving because, watch this now, it reflects our faith, our trust, and our devotion to him. Are we tracking together? So, typically, they say that when you go and grab somebody's checkbook, you can see where their priorities are. If we go and grab your checkbook, where would your priorities be? Would it be clear that you honor God? Would it be clear that you trust God? Would it be clear that you believe in God? But watch this now. Sometimes when somebody writes a big check, it does not mean it's a big sacrifice." [00:47:40] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "God weighs rather than counts our offering, assessing the sacrifice and sincerity behind each gift. See, when somebody gives you a 20, for some people, giving you a 20 or 100 means nothing. But for other people, when they give you a 20 or 100, it means that was groceries for the day. It means that was their light bill for the month. If we were in Kenya, that would be two months of income. But a few years ago when somebody gave you a 100 dollars, so boy, it's not always the amount. It's the, it's the sacrifice." [01:02:18] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "God's plan is right even when things are right. Here's godly logic. God's economy operates differently. When we give in faith, even during tight times, he promises to provide for our needs. This isn't a prosperity promise, but a reminder that God honors faithful obedience and sacrificial generosity. The widow's faith in giving all she had demonstrates that reliance on God, even in scarcity, brings spiritual richness and divine provision. Will you honor God? When you live right, then you honor God in your life." [01:13:58] (48 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "When you live right, then you honor God in your giving. You never have to worry about money another day in your life. When I was in seminary, we had a professor by the name of Ramesh Richard. Ramesh Richard is Indian. Ramesh Richard goes back to Indian cultures and ministers the gospel through his international ministry. And so one day I asked him, I say, you know, I got a question. What do you say to people who are poor, but they're reading what we're reading about God provides for all of your needs?" [01:14:40] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)