If you have your Bibles, turn with me this morning to Luke chapter 21, and I want to preach this morning on the joy of generosity.
And you would imagine that this is tied to what we're doing this morning, and it is, but I want to tell you it's not just about what we're doing this morning.
I want to talk to you not just about what we're going to be pledging and giving, committing in just a few minutes, but about a lifestyle of generosity.
So I hope you'll keep that in mind as I preach the message this morning.
I want to say one thing about this commitment time, too, that we're going to make here in just a few moments.
I want to be real clear about this, and I know that church leadership will agree this wholeheartedly.
We know that some of you have been negatively impacted by this COVID virus over the last year and a half, nearly two years now.
And so as a result of that, some of you have had a loss of income.
Some of you have had additional expenses that you haven't had in the past.
And I know that for some of you, it's going to be impossible to participate, and we want you to understand that's okay.
We understand that completely.
I don't want anybody here to do anything they don't feel comfortable doing, anything that you know that you can't do.
We don't want you to feel like a second-class citizen for not being able to do that either.
We're glad to have you as a part of First Baptist Church of Pickens, and you just give as God leads and enables you to be able to give.
So if you have your Bibles, turn with us to Luke chapter 21, and let me just tell you about the message.
It's going to be short in explanation.
Usually they're longer in explanation, shorter in application.
This one's going to be shorter in explanation, longer in application, but it's not going to be long, okay?
I'm going to preach a relatively short message this morning for me, okay?
So some of you are saying, well, okay, that's still about 50 minutes, right?
No, I promise it'll be shorter than that.
We've got four verses we're going to look at, and I'm going to explain those, and then we're going to go back,
and we're going to look at three points that I want you to see about the generosity, three principles of generosity.
So with that said, let's jump right in, Luke chapter 21 and verse 1.
He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury.
Now, if you think about it, and you may never have thought about this before,
but that's kind of an odd thing to see Jesus do, because in Matthew chapter 6,
Jesus makes it real clear when you give, how you do to give.
You're to give in secret.
Don't let anybody know what you're doing.
Don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing, right?
So it seems a little bit peculiar that Jesus has come into the temple area,
and he's in this room where they gave their offerings, the treasury room,
and there are trumpets on the wall.
Now, when you think about a trumpet like in our orchestra at times, that's what I'm talking about.
It wasn't an actual playing trumpet, but it was an instrument that looked something like a trumpet,
and it was attached to the wall, and people would go over, and they would put their offerings into this trumpet.
Now, keep in mind, paper currency didn't come around until about the 10th century through the Chinese,
and so at this point in time, everything's coinage.
Coins were silver and gold and other metals, and obviously the silver and gold were most valuable,
and the larger the coin, obviously the greater the value.
Well, Jesus watches, and that's what's kind of odd about it because he's actually watching them.
Have you ever reached in your wallet to put out money to put an offering plate,
and somebody from the pew behind you leans over and says, hmm, that's a 20?
You'd be kind of offended by that, right?
I mean, you'd say, well, wait a second, man.
This is my own business.
Don't watch me give.
But Jesus just kind of takes position here in the room, and he's watching,
and all these wealthy people are coming through, and they're putting their coins into this trumpet.
Well, because it's metal, and the coinage is metal, guess what?
It makes quite a racket, right, as you would expect.
So they're putting their offerings in, there's a lot of clanging going on,
and Jesus is just watching one, another, another, another, another,
and these people drop their money in their offering.
Well, look at verse 2.
He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.
The scholars tell us those coins were likely what we know today as a lepta.
It was a tiny little, almost weightless coin.
I had some replicas of those several years ago, gave them away to somebody,
but they call them widow's mites.
You've heard that expression.
It was just a tiny, tiny coin.
It was the least valuable of all the coins that the Greeks used, okay?
If you took those two coins that I had and you had dropped them on this floor,
those of you only on the front would hear it, and then only faintly,
and those of you in the back would never know it.
They were just light, almost as a feather, much less weight than even a penny.
So verse 2 says,
He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins.
Verse 3.
I tell you the truth, he said,
This poor widow has put in more than all of them.
Now here's the picture.
Jesus is standing there watching.
We don't know what the disciples are doing.
They're milling around,
and he's watching these rich people put in their coins,
hearing all this clan,
and then here comes this widow,
and she's got two little leptus in her hand,
and she drops them in there,
and you don't hear anything.
And Jesus just suddenly just stops and says,
Guys, get over here.
And they all come to Jesus,
and he says,
Hey, you see these rich guys going there?
Yeah.
You see that little widow right there?
Mm-hmm.
She just put in more than all those guys together.
Wow.
I mean, Jesus notes what she gives and comments on it.
Now, those disciples,
if they're like us,
you know what they're thinking?
He needs to go to Costco and get a hearing test.
I mean,
did you hear all that clanging and banging
when they emptied those bags of money into the trumpets?
And I don't know what she gave,
but it couldn't be much.
Just look at how she's dressed.
She didn't have much,
but he says she's given more than all of them.
Now, I want to tell you something.
Simple little story.
Four verses.
We're getting ready to see the fourth verse.
You don't have to be a theologian.
Never had to be at seminary a day in your life.
In fact,
if we've got a sixth grade boy or girl here,
they can come and read this next verse,
and they can tell you as well as I can
what Jesus meant.
Look at verse four.
For all these people have put in gifts
out of their surplus,
out of their plenty.
But she, out of her poverty,
has put in all she had to live on.
They've given maybe lots and lots of money.
She's given just something that's virtually worthless.
And he says she's given more.
He's not talking obviously about dollars and cents.
Jesus has a different way of looking at things
than how we typically look at things.
He's not concerned about how many zeros
are at the end of her gift.
Jesus says,
I want to tell you something.
She put in more than all
because they gave out of their abundance,
out of their wealth.
She has given out of her poverty.
And here's the startling thing.
Everything she had to live on.
When you look at her,
we use that expression,
I'm broke.
She really is.
Most of the time when we say it,
we don't really mean that.
We've got stuff back at the house, right?
But she has given everything she had
going forward to live on.
I want to share with you three principles
about generosity.
And I hope you'll listen carefully.
The first is this.
The truest measure of generosity
is not what you give,
but what you keep for yourself.
The truest measure of generosity
is not what you give,
but what you keep for yourself.
The wealthier had given more,
but they had plenty left over.
They gave out of their surplus,
but she gave out of her poverty.
Now, I want to be real clear about this,
and I don't want you to miss this
because I think sometimes
when we talk about generosity,
we skip where we miss this.
What those guys did,
Jesus is not condemning.
Jesus is not saying one thing negative
about what those wealthy people did.
In fact, it was commendable.
I want to say to you,
all giving is good
because they're taking that which is theirs,
no one's forcing them to,
and they're giving it away to someone else.
So all giving is good,
and I'm guessing everyone in this building,
without exception,
has at some point,
it's hard for me to fathom
that anyone in this room
has not ever given something away.
That's always a good thing,
but some of you know what it is to be generous,
and generous is even a better thing.
The book of Proverbs repeatedly
commends people for their generosity.
Jesus speaks a number of times
about being generous.
Jesus tells his own disciples,
freely you have received,
freely give.
The Bible again and again commends generosity,
but I want to tell you something.
No one modeled it better than Jesus.
No one who has ever lived.
He's the absolute epitome
and picture of what it is to be generous.
He never owned a home.
He never owned a means of transportation
that we know.
He's always borrowing a donkey, right?
He owned absolutely nothing.
He lived day to day to day trusting God,
and at the end,
he gives everything.
He spills his blood
that humanity might have eternal life.
You know what's always kind of bugged me
when you think about generosity?
The media will find some athlete,
some actor,
some politician,
some leader in business
who makes kazillions of dollars,
literally millions and millions
and millions of dollars,
sometimes even pointing out
they're billionaires,
and they give $100,000,
they give $200,000,
they even give a million dollars,
and they say,
boy,
what a generous,
generous contribution.
Well,
that's a good thing.
I'm not saying anything bad
about those who make those donations.
It's a good thing,
but generous,
not hardly.
It's not,
it's not what you give,
it's what you got left over
that determines if a gift
is really,
really,
a generous gift.
I want to show you a picture
so you'll know,
you'll leave knowing
exactly what generous looks like.
In my first church out of Seminary,
I'm 25 years old,
I go to be pastor
of Western Avenue Baptist Church
in Statesville,
North Carolina.
I immediately meet
this older couple,
they're in their late 60s,
their names are Clyde
and Eula Neighbors.
We all called him Drag.
Don't ask me why,
I never knew why.
But his name was Drag Neighbors.
Wonderful old fella,
wonderful,
wonderful gal in Eula.
She became like a grandmother to me.
He died about two years
after I got there.
She was still living when I left,
but she died later in her 80s.
They lived about six blocks south
of the church.
They walked to church
on Sunday morning,
on Sunday night,
on Tuesday evening for visitation,
on Wednesday evening
for prayer meeting.
Any other meetings going up
to the church,
they walked that six blocks
to the church.
They walked about a half a mile
to the grocery store and back
anytime they went
to the grocery store.
He walked about a half a mile
to work at J.C. Steel
where he labored
for years and years and years.
They walked a mile to town
in Statesville
to do all their shopping.
Everywhere they went
unless someone stopped
and gave them a ride,
which was seldom,
they walked.
When I went there
and he's about seven years old,
they're still walking.
I'm told that someone
asked Drag Neighbors one day,
Mr. Neighbors,
you work at J.C. Steel.
It's a steel foundry
there in Statesville,
not far from the church,
Cross Street,
in fact, from the church.
And they said,
why is it you never owned a car?
All these other guys
at the foundry own cars.
They pay good wages.
Everybody has a car.
Why don't you have a car?
And they said that Drag
just tried to blow them off,
wouldn't say anything.
They kept pressing,
kept pressing,
and finally,
you know what Drag Neighbors,
told them?
He says,
I don't have a car
because me and you
had decided years ago
if we owned a car,
we couldn't give as much
to missions.
Can I tell you
that our secretary told me
that beginning January 1
and all through the year,
we received money from them
for a Lottie Moon Christmas offering
from January through December.
Drag died
about two years
after I'd been there.
years passed.
We relocate the church
on the other side of town.
I made a pledge
to those senior adults
who lived on the south side
of Statesville.
We'll not abandon you.
We'll come back
and pick you up
and give you transportation
to the new location.
Bought a van
to transport them.
Ran every service we had.
On Sunday nights,
oftentimes,
after I'd preached that day,
I would relax
by taking those ladies home.
So, one night,
I get on the van
with these ladies,
about six, seven, eight ladies.
I'm carrying them
to the south Statesville.
That morning,
I have announced
to the church
we've got an opportunity
to buy 10 more acres of land.
It's going to cost us
$100,000.
In about two or three weeks,
we're going to have a big Sunday
like you're having today,
and we'll take an offering.
We'll see if we can gather
that $100,000
in a single Sunday offering.
Well, I get on the van.
I take the ladies home.
I've dropped off two or three.
Miss Yule is still in the van.
Still two or three
other ladies on the van.
She says to me,
Pastor,
we're pulling up to her house
on Fifth Street.
She says,
Pastor,
when we get to my house,
I've been a little wobbly lately.
She's never been wobbly.
She says,
I'm a little wobbly lately.
Would you walk with me
up to the door?
So, I know
she's got something
she wants to say.
I stop the van,
get out,
open the door,
let her out.
She holds Marm.
I walk her up
to the front door.
She fumbles for her keys
and then as she's opening
the door,
she looks at me
and says,
I heard what you said
this morning
about that land
and I want to help you.
I said,
well,
that's great.
She says,
in my house,
I've got a shoe box
there in my closet.
I saw a pair of shoes.
She calls the name
of a store
in Statesville
on Broad Street.
She says,
I've seen a pair of shoes
up there.
I've been saving for it.
I've got $56.
You wait right here.
I'm going to get
that $56.
Boy,
tears
is being streamed
down my face.
I said,
Miss Sheila,
I don't want you
to do that.
I said,
you need those shoes
way worse than we need
that $56.
You just keep that money.
It'll be okay.
Big tears now
streamed down her face
and she says,
I want to get that money
and she goes inside
and gets it
and comes back
and hands me $56.
She says,
don't let any of them
women on this bus
know what I did.
That's a picture
of generosity.
Do you know that?
It's not that athlete
who gives $100,000
when he's making
$20 million a year.
That's a picture
of generosity.
Second thing
I want you to see
is this.
Generosity
is never about
giving what is expected
of you.
It is about giving
what no one
would suspect
you'd ever do.
Generosity
is not about
just reasoning
and thinking,
okay,
what can I afford
to give
and here's
what I should give
and here's
my fair share.
Generosity
is when you say,
you know what?
Let's just do
what I don't say
I'm going to be able
to do.
Let's just
blow folks' minds.
Let's just blow
our minds.
That kind of giving
is fun.
Let me prove it to you
and I'm going
to prove it to you.
How many of you
have carried
your wife out
for a real nice meal?
It's a special occasion
or maybe you've done
something boneheaded
and you want to make
up for it,
you know?
And so you carry
your wife out
for a real fancy meal.
You go to somewhere
like the Peddler
or somewhere
close by
in the Easley
or Pickens.
It's a real fancy place
and you go in
and I'm going
to make it
probably less
than what you paid
but let's say
for the sake of argument
you paid $50
for the meal,
okay?
They bring you
your bill.
Well,
what are you going
to do?
You're going
to leave
about a $10 tip,
20%.
You're going
to feel okay
about that
but I'll tell you
something.
You put that
on your credit card
and you pull out
an extra $10
and you pay
the bill
and when you walk
out of that restaurant
you don't ever
think about it again.
Am I right?
No biggie.
It's what is expected.
20%
here's my $10,
$50 meal.
Okay,
I'm good to go
but watch this.
The next morning
you get up,
you're heading
on your way
to the office
and you didn't
have time
for breakfast
so you pull
into your favorite
little diner
cafe
and that waitress
who waits on you
all the time
she's there
and she takes
your order
and all you want
is coffee
but you notice
it's taking
an unusual amount
of time
because there are
very few working
that day
and some of the
customers are getting
kind of unruly
and impatient
and they're
dogging it
where are my eggs
and where are my grits
and where's my bacon
and you didn't do
this right,
you toasted
the wrong piece
of toast
and that kind of stuff
you know.
Giving her a hard time
and you watch that
and so when she
brings your coffee
you drink your coffee
and you get up
to pay the bill
and it's only two bucks
but this time
you pay 500%
in tip.
You reach in your pocket
and you leave
a $10 bill
the same $10 bill
you left the night
before at the peddler
but this time
you leave a $10 bill
on the table
for her tip
and then you go
pay the $2
at the cash register.
Can I tell you something?
You will think
about that $10
all day long.
It's not that you'll
regret giving the $10
you'll just think
boy I hope that
made her day
right?
I mean you'll look back
as you're going out
the door to see
did she get that $10
I want to make sure
she got that $10.
You'll feel good
about it.
You can't wait
to see her
the next time
you go in that restaurant
because you know
you've been generous
right?
Generous isn't doing
what you're expected
to do
it's about doing
what nobody
would expect you to do.
Here's the final
third thing
and I close the message.
I believe
great generosity
is motivated
more often than not
not always
but more often than not
by three things.
I'm going to tell you
what those three things are.
First of all
by love.
Love is the best
motivator
for giving
that I know of.
You know how I know that?
you are most generous
with the people
you love the most.
Your wife
your husband
your children
your grandchildren
can I tell you something?
I am generous
to a fault
when it comes
to any of them.
I'm an easy touch
right?
They know
they ask me for it
if I can do it
I'm going to help them.
I'm not going to spoil them
but I'm going to tell you something
I'm going to do everything
I can to give them
everything they need
and much of what they want
because I love them.
You ask me
why did this
woman
put in the last thing
she had to live on?
I believe this
first and foremost
she loved God.
Why is she at the temple?
She's at the temple
because she loves God.
Why is she at the temple?
She's there to worship
because she loves God.
Why is she at the temple?
She's there to pray
because she loves God.
She passes these
trumpets
and thinks
you know what
I've got two
left
there's not much
but I want to give it
to God
and motivated by love
she does
what she does.
Many of you
in this room
have been motivated
by love
at one time or another
to give
and I want to tell you something
every time you do
it's a great feeling
isn't it?
You remember that special gift
you got your wife?
That special gift
you couldn't wait
to give it to them?
That special gift
you got your grandchild?
For those of you
who are grandparents
I'll throw this in
for absolutely free
this morning
I went online
about six months ago
I guess it was
wasn't it Regina?
And I found this little box
it's about this high
and about this wide
and it's a truck inside it
I can't
you remember the name
of that truck?
It's something like
a monster truck
or something right?
And you turn this key
and the box goes
to shaking right?
It's the craziest thing
you've ever seen
in your life
it cost me about
50 bucks
but I'm going to tell you
it was worth
every penny of it
to watch him turn that key
because that box
it talks to you
and it moves
back and forth
until finally
the box explodes
and this truck
comes running out
if you want a good gift
for your three year old
grandchild
now that's the gift
I'm just telling you
right?
You do it
because you love them
Second reason
you give
is because
of faith
she gave out
of her poverty
everything she had
to live on
let me ask you
do you think
for a minute
she thought
well I guess
this is it
I'm going to die today
I'm giving away
everything I've got
to eat on
here's the two leaps
no
she gave that
because she loved God
and she had this mentality
God is always
taking care of me
I don't know
where the next meal
is coming from
but he's always
provided one
and so if he takes
care of me
in the past
he'll take care of me
it's not prosperity
preaching
listen
prosperity preaching
says this
if you give
I promise you
God is going to
cause the Wells Fargo
truck to pull up
in front of your house
that's not so
she didn't think that
she didn't give
with that in mind
she just gave
thinking this
God's always been good
God's always provided
I'm a person of faith
don't know how
he's going to do it
but he's going to
take care of me
now listen to me
if I ask you
how many of you
in this room
believe that
about yourself
the vast
vast
vast majority
if not unanimously
everyone in this room
would raise their hand
but I want to tell you
something
the evidence
says
otherwise
I have never
in my life
and I'm 69 years old
witnessed a day
and a time
and I'm not talking
about with believers
only
I'm talking about
with believers
non-believers
across the board
I have never
seen a time
in my lifetime
where people
thought they had
to insulate themselves
and protect themselves
so much
with their
stuff
I call it
we have
more
stuff
than we know
what to do with
and we dare not
give that stuff away
or throw it away
because
it makes us
feel safe
to have all
our
stuff
you know
what I'm saying
right through
one of these
neighborhoods
where the houses
are pretty close
together
in Greer
we got them
everywhere
and
they have
for the most part
two car garages
but you'll see
two and three cars
parked out
in front of that
house at night
you know why
because they can't
get them in the
garage
you know why
they can't get
them in the
garage
because they
got their
say it with
me
stuff
their stuff
is filled
the garage
right
you walk
in
if you just
rudely
walked over
and said
hey what's
in this
closet
open the
closet
you'd get
killed
right
it'd fall
out on top
of you
I mean
it's just
packed with
say it with
me
stuff
big question
for you
you do
know don't
you that
you're going
to die
one day
every one
of us
in this
room
unless the
Lord
come
we're
going
to die
I want
to tell you
something
when you
die
big question
what are they
going to do
with your
stuff
I'm going to
tell you
right now
I'm going to
put your mind
at ease
or horrify
you one
they're going
to throw it
away
they're going
to get rid
of it
they may sell
some of it
the valuable
stuff but most
of it
they're going
to pay
somebody to
come in
with a
truck and
load it
up and
haul it
off so
they can
sell your
house
they don't
want your
stuff
here's how
I know
they don't
want your
stuff
you go
visit your
kids
you don't
want their
stuff
right
you walk
in you see
their stuff
and you say
hmm why
did they buy
that stuff
man why
didn't they
buy furniture
like we
buy
they come
to your
house and
you think
man this
is great
stuff here
we got
they don't
see it
that way
they want
something
utilitarian
they want
something gray
right
they want
something
that don't
have all
them flowers
on it
they want
their stuff
they got
their taste
they want
their stuff
they don't
want your
stuff
and you
don't want
their stuff
so what's
going to
happen is
they're going
to give
all your
stuff away
now you
worked hard
for that
stuff
and you've
been protecting
it all
these years
apparently
right
you didn't
want to
throw it
away
you didn't
want to
throw it
out
so you
must think
it's a
value
but the
truth is
one day
it's going
to all
be gone
so here's
the big
deal
why don't
you give
it away
if somebody's
going to
have the
pleasure
of giving
it away
giving it
to goodwill
or giving
it to
some
ministry
or giving
it to
somebody
in need
somebody's
house burns
or selling
the stuff
and donating
that money
to somebody
or selling
the stuff
and going
on a
vacation
or buying
your wife
a fancy
ring
or something
but why
just keep
collecting stuff
you know why
because we're
fearful
unlike that
lady
that we
won't make
it to the
end unless
we keep
our stuff
you see
that
that's a
lack of
faith
how many
of you
I don't know
about Pickens
but over in
Greer where I
live you can't
go a mile
and not see a
storage facility
we got a real
fancy one now
across from
Riverside High
School
and it's got
we've got air
conditioned storage
for your
stuff
I don't know
what they put
in there
popsicles
ice creams
or what
but
you need
to keep
it cool
you can
keep it
cool
in that
storage
facility
right
and so
folks pay
lots and
lots of
money
to store
their stuff
and then
they never
go get it
and they
never use
it
so I'm
asking you
why don't
you think
about today
if you don't
get anything
else out of
this message
go home
and throw
away some
stuff
right
just call
somebody
hey you
know what
I noticed
you could
use this
why don't
you come
get this
sell that
stuff and
give it
the money
to some
charity
well here's
the third
thing I want
to say to
you and I
close the
message
there's a
third reason
for giving
love
faith
and the
third one
is joy
and if I
had the
privilege right
now of
changing the
screen
I would put
up additional
word
I didn't
think of
when I
sent Colton
the outline
selfish
joy
selfish
joy
and the
reason I'd
say selfish
joy is
because living
generously
is a hoot
I just want
to tell you
it's a real
real hoot
to live
generously
the scripture
even tells us
it will be
second
Corinthians
nine
seven
says this
each person
should do
as he has
decided in
his heart
not out of
regret
or out of
necessity
you ever
done that
you ever
looked in
your wallet
they take
one of
those quickie
offerings
you didn't
know was
coming
you look
in your
offering
in your
billfold
and there's
a twenty
and you're
hoping there
were some
ones
yeah that's
what he's
talking about
not out of
regret
or out of
necessity
for God
loves a
cheerful
giver
that word
literally
means this
hilarious
has there
ever been
occasion
when you
pass the
play here
and they
couldn't go
on with
singing
because people
were just
laughing so
hard
I heard
you a hundred
dollars
pass it
on
that's how
it ought to
be
now I'm
gonna tell you
something
you have been
like that
when I gave
that little
truck to my
grandson
I was way
more excited
about it than
he was
I mean I
got my
camera
all right son
keep pushing
that box
do what it
tells you
that thing's
gonna bust
out of here
in a minute
it's gonna
be great
right
when you
give
generously
out of love
and faith
I'm telling
you it's
always a
hoot
there's
always
great
joy
I close
by telling
you this
there are a
lot of
folk I
know
who are
hundred
heirs
and thousand
heirs
and have a
lot more
fun with
their money
than a lot
of people
who are
millionaires
do you know
that
a lot
of people
who are
thousand
years
have a
lot more
fun with
their money
than
millionaires
do
because
they're
just
keeping
it all
not all
of them
a lot
of them
are very
very generous
people
but there
are some
out there
who are
doing that
I close
with this
story
Francis Chan
is my
favorite preacher
in the world
he's a little
Chinese guy
he was on
the west
coast
he's now
overseas
in Asia
he
he's got
about as
good attitude
toward money
and things
as anybody
I know
he gives
this illustration
he's standing
on this car
lot
and there's
a fancy
fancy sports
car right
here right
and Francis
says
because he
sells books
by the
millions
he could
just buy
anything
he wanted
but
everything
he gets
he gives
away
and Francis
says
I could
drive this
fancy sports
car here
and there's
nothing wrong
by the way
with having
a fancy
sports car
if you
want to
give me
one I'll
take it
nothing
wrong
with that
he says
I could
have this
sports car
but I
don't have
it
and he
walks
and here's
another one
and another
one
and another
one
and another
one
and he
says
I don't
drive
any of
these
but the
truth is
if I'm
being honest
with you
I could
afford to
drive
any one
of these
I want
but he
keeps going
down to
the end
of the row
and here
sits
I don't
remember
what it
was
but it
was like
a Honda
or a
Toyota
something like
most of us
drive
and he
said
this is
what I
drive
and you
know why
I do
that
I do
it
out of
selfishness
he said
here's why
he said
if I buy
this fancy
car down
here
and I
pull it
in your
parking
lot
and somebody
scrapes
my door
I am
ticked
and he
said
if I
go down
the road
and somebody
hits me
I am
just
my day's
ruined
or the
first time
he gets
scratched
or even
after a
while I
just get
bored
with it
because we
all know
this
right
we're
all
going
to get
bored
with the
car
sooner
or later
and he
says
so I
have great
joy for
a while
but it
just goes
away
but he
says I
have learned
I can
take the
fifty thousand
dollars I
save in
buying that
car and
not buying
this car
and because
of the
economy the
way it is
I can take
that fifty
thousand and
send it to
Africa and
I can build
an orphanage
that will
house ten
to fifteen
children
and he
said and
every time
I get to
go there
or every
time they
send me
photographs
and I
see the
pictures of
those little
kids not
just this
year but
next year and
the next
decade and
the next
decade and
the next
decade every
time I get
those pictures
he said it
just brings me
great great
great joy
and he
says so
I try to
give and
buy that
cheaper car
out of
selfishness
it brings me
more joy to
do that than
it would if I
had that
sports car
can I tell you
something you
don't believe
that probably
deep down in
your heart
but if you
ever did it
you'd find
out it's
right
it's right
the things in
life that
have brought
you the most
joy are not
those things
you own
it's those
things that
you give
away
I hope you'll
do well in
this offering
but I hope
even more
that you'll
adopt today
a lifestyle
of being
generous
do it with
your waitress
at lunch
today
do it with
your wife
today or
your husband
today or
your children
today or
your neighbor
or the guy
who works
with you
that person
who's having
a tough time
that you know
about
be generous
with it
not just
we a church
just adopt
a lifestyle
of generosity
let's pray
Lord
I pray
you'd move
on us
right now
what we're
to do
in this
service
about this
commitment
I pray
that no one
would feel
coerced
because we
don't need
that kind
of giving
and you
don't want
us to give
that way
but I pray
God that we
would be
motivated by
how well
you've
blessed us
and our
ability to
give
and our
spirit of
generosity
make us
joyful
generous
givers
is our
prayer in
your name
amen
thank you