Giving out of Obedience to God leads to living out of Abundance in God
Did you know that Andrew Luck is the highest paid player in the NFL?
Luck is the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. This last June, he signed a 6-year deal that would pay him $140 million setting all kinds of records & making him the highest paid player in the NFL. Knowing all that, would it surprise you to know that Andrew Luck still uses a flip phone? With all that money, he still uses a “go phone” that he bought from AT&T.
There’s a word for that: UNCOMMON.
It’s rare. Wonderful. Unexpected. Remarkable.
As Christians, we are by default countercultural. We live life different. You might say we are uncommon.
One of the ways we’re different is that we believe that, in the words of Jesus, “it is more blessed to give than it is to receive.”
That’s uncommon!
This is one of the ways that sets us apart as followers of Jesus. It’s our generosity. We give & give generously. We live generous lives because we belong to a generous God. We are children of a generous Father who has given us EVERYTHING. We believe everything we have comes from God. That’s uncommon. There are people who believe they have what they have because they worked hard for it, because they deserve it, because they earned it. We’re not opposed to hard work, we believe in it. We’re not opposed to people receiving the fruits of their labor. We’re for that. We firmly believe in the biblical principle that you reap what you sow. But, it’s our belief that everything we have comes from God. He is the giver of every good & perfect gift. So we can’t take credit for it. We can’t feel entitled. He gives & he takes away. Either way, we praise His name & trust Him. And that’s uncommon.
We are a people of uncommon generosity because we serve a living God of uncommon generosity.
We believe that we are never more like Christ than when we give.
[Tweet “We are never more like Christ than when we give.”]Jesus summed it up this way… “where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is also.“
No matter the reason we give, we want our treasure & our heart to be in the right place.
So there’s an ancient story that reminds us what happens when we give & trust God.
1 Kings 17.8-15
8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”
10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
Elijah asks this poor widow to give him something to drink & something to eat. But the woman responds that she doesn’t think she can do it. She’s basically preparing her last meal for her & her son. She’s afraid she can’t help Elijah & she’s afraid that she & her son are about to literally die from starvation.
Some of you today know how this woman feels. You may not be on your last meal at home, but you know what it feels like to be desperate. You know the feeling of security that comes from holding on to what little you do have & not being willing to let it go.
13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
I find this shocking. You would think that if Elijah really was a man of God, he would have told this woman to go ahead & take care of herself & her son first. Why would Elijah insist she put his needs ahead of her own? You would think Elijah would have rallied support from other God followers, started a gofundme site for her, done something to raise support for this poor woman. But he doesn’t do any of that. Instead, he asks her to give first & watch God bless her in return.
Why does Elijah do this? It’s not about what he wants from her, it’s about what he wants for her.
He says, “Don’t be afraid.” Even in your giving. Don’t be afraid. Why not? Because when you give first to God, there will always be enough.
[Tweet “When you give first to God, there will always be enough. “]Listen to what happens next…
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
For me, this story is an important reminder that giving out of obedience to God leads to living out of abundance in God.
[Tweet “Giving out of obedience to God leads to living out of abundance in God. “]This is exactly what Jesus told us.
Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10.10
Here’s the deal, you could be the richest person in the room by the world’s standards & not experience the abundant life of Jesus. Conversely, you could be the poorest person in the room by the world’s standards & be the wealthiest because you experience the abundance of God every day in your life.
Many Christians are convinced that they can’t afford to give. Why? FEAR. But there’s no reason to fear because giving isn’t about what God wants from you, it’s about what God wants FOR you.
[Tweet “Giving isn’t about what God wants FROM you, it’s about what God wants FOR you.”]What if that widow had said “NO” to Elijah?
What if she didn’t make him a little bread first? What if she had never trusted him? She would have never experienced the power of God at work in her life. Because she gave out of obedience, she got to experience God’s abundance.
Some of us are living out of our own abundance, but we’ve never experienced the abundance of God.
Whatever reason you have for not giving back to God, for not giving to the local church, I want you to know — this isn’t about anything else except your obedience to God & you experiencing the blessing of God through faithfully giving back to God out of obedience. This is not a financial matter, it’s a spiritual matter.
[Tweet “Giving isn’t a financial matter, it’s a spiritual matter. “]Again, Jesus said it this way…
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. Luke 6.38
May we be a people of uncommon generosity.
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