Joyful Giving By Dan Hedge

And so when we talk about why are we generous, why do we give? It's because of that relationship with our heavenly father. Are we commanded to give generously? We are. Is giving a mark of spiritual maturity? It is. Is it hard to do? It is. Is it worth it? It absolutely is. [00:48:19] (38 seconds)  #GiveFromRelationship

Our god is a generous god, and our god wants us to be a generous people. As a matter of fact, as David pointed out last week, generosity is a mark of spiritual maturity. Generosity is a mark of spiritual maturity. So we need to sow generously, and we need to do so cheerfully. It's an I get to, not an I have to. When we are generous, God blesses both the giver and the receiver, and he does it for his glory. [00:41:23] (40 seconds)  #CheerfulGenerosity

I think when it comes to this area of giving, there's a question we need to ask yourself. Do you see yourself as an owner, or do you see yourself as a steward? You see, an owner says, it's mine. I earned it, so I can do whatever I want with it. But a steward realizes that God has given me this body. He's given me my health. He's given me the skills that I have. He's provided a job for me that every gift is from him. [00:23:14] (37 seconds)  #StewardNotOwner

we prayed about it. She prayed about it. I prayed about it. And then we did feel what God was calling us to. And what was really incredible about that time and every time I've experienced this is that we saw God show up in an amazing way. That he provided money we didn't know how he was gonna provide, and we got to see him at work and it increased our faith. And we saw God multiply our gift and do amazing things. The other way to look at that is to give sacrificially. [00:33:18] (31 seconds)  #GodProvidesWhenWeSacrifice

And all of those can seem quite selfish. Right? That what am I getting out of it? But the reality is at the core of it all, the main reason that I give is I give out a gratitude for what Jesus has done. I give out a gratitude for what Jesus has done. Right? Because I know that I was sinful and separated from god, that there was no good things I could do, not enough good works that would ever earn me a a spot in heaven. And so God sacrificed his own son to come and pay the penalty in my place so that I could have eternal life with him. [00:05:13] (44 seconds)  #GiveFromGratitude

And if I give to the work that they're doing, if I support them as a missionary, you wanna know the really cool thing is one day when I stand in heaven, I'm gonna get some of the credit. Right? People I've never met in parts of the world I've never been to and never will go to, I can have an impact on their lives through my generosity. I can make a difference in the lives of people that I'll never meet because of my generosity. God can multiply that gift and do amazing things. [00:36:29] (34 seconds)  #GlobalImpactThroughGiving

You see, if God blesses you abundantly, it's not just for your own comfort. It's not just so you can have a bigger place or or a nicer car or a fancier trip. God has blessed you so you can be a blessing to others. That's how his plan works. And so we can trust him that he will provide, and we don't have to act out of fear or scarcity mentality, but we can act out of faith. Saying God has provided, and it's not just so I can have more, but it's so I can help others. [00:39:17] (35 seconds)  #BlessedToBlessOthers

And that car was special, not just because it was fun to race it down and I could say that's my car, but because I did it with my dad. And some of you may be here today and didn't have that kind of earthly father, didn't get that experience, but I can promise you there's a heavenly father who wants to do that with you. Right? That he can do more than we could ever do on our own, and he doesn't need our help, but he chooses to use us because he wants the relationship with us, and he loves us. [00:47:41] (37 seconds)  #HeavenlyFatherRelationship