Empowering for Generosity

There is a prophetic word that has been spoken over New Covenant that we will be financiers of the Kingdom of God.  We need to be empowered for generosity.

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What is Generosity?

• Generous – liberal in giving,
• Openhanded,
• Marked by ample portions

Are you GENEROUS, or are you STINGY?

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STINGY

Proverbs 28:22 (ESV)

²²A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.

 

Proverbs 28:22 (NKJV)

²²A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.

“Stinginess is a form of fear.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

 

FIVE OBSERVATIONS ABOUT GENEROSITY

God Wants Us to Be Generous

Deuteronomy 24:19–22 (ESV)

 

¹⁹“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

²⁰When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.

²¹When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.

²²You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

 

Being Generous Brings Blessings in Your Life

“Why do you think God has blessed you like He’s blessed you.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

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Proverbs 11:24–25 (ESV)

²⁴One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

²⁵Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

 

Proverbs 11:24–25 (NIV)

²⁴One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Amazing things can happen when you are generous.  Don’t hoard.

“Many of us have consumed what God has intended for us to give away.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

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Generosity Starts in The Heart and Moves to the Hands

Moses Collecting Contributions for the Tabernacle

Exodus 35:4–9 (ESV)

⁴Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded.

⁵Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze;

⁶blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair,

⁷tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood,

⁸oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,

⁹and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

Proverbs 23:6; Do not eat the bread of a man who’s stingy.

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BEING GENEROUS DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU HAVE

2 Corinthians 8:1–5 (ESV)

¹We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,

²for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

³For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,

⁴begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—

⁵and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

“Joy is not dependent upon my external circumstances.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

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You Emulate God When You Practice Generosity.

God is a generous God.

In Deuteronomy God Gave Israel:

Deut. 8:18 – Power to get wealth

Deut. 12:10 – Rest from all of their enemies

Deut. 13:12 – Cities to dwell in

Deut. 20:14 – The plunder of their enemies

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Job said that God gives:

Job 33:4 – The Breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Job 35:10 – God gives songs in the night.

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The Psalmist chimed in and said:

Psalm 68:35 – God gives strength and power to His people.

Eccl. 2:26 – God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy.

John 3:16 – He gave His Son so that we can have eternal life.

1 Cor. 3:7 – God gives the increase.

1 Cor. 15:57 – God gives us the victory.

James 4:6 – God gives more grace.

Rev. 21:1 – God gives us a new heaven and a new earth

“God demonstrates generosity from the beginning to the end.” – Pastor Billy Johnson

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Conclusion

Why does God want us to be generous?

Generosity teaches us to:

• Depend on God
• Not be selfish
• Teaches us our responsibility to others.

Question to consider:  “Am I having trouble being generous because I consider myself the OWNER and not the STEWARD of GOD’S RESOURCES?”