A Generous Spirit, Part 2

Today on Summit life with Judy Greer placed the ultimate investment counselor will ask how your investment will repay all been just 30 years. Ask how your investment will be paid off in €30 million.

Some of you are going to retire comfortably and then you go into your ultimate retirement with nothing because you haven't invested in eternity.

And you're going to die and stand before God having leverage all of your life. You religion Judy Greer your host Molly benefits know about you but to me money is an incredibly personal topic and it's often considered off-limits in polite conversation. I mean how many of us actually discuss her salary or are getting numbers with friends or even family. Guess what the Bible doesn't shy away from these uncomfortable issues.

So today Pastor JD explained how the gospel transforms our view of finances as part of the hallmark teaching series we've been income gospel. Now here's Pastor JD with a message called generous spirit. Chapter 6 verse seven.

As for the rich also in this present age that will really think this passage is not for me because I'm a rich little sociological insight about Americans. Nobody in America thinks the rich might look a little perspective here. If you earn $37,000 a year combined household income is $37,000 a year you were in the top 4% of the wage earners in the world. Point is, this is all a matter of perspective. Here's what Paul says rich people in the next several verses first thing he tells you what not to do with money for 70 charge them out the haughty notice of their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us everything to enjoy. Number one he says do not be haughty when it money very quickly becomes the measure of our status and our value there is no difference in class to God.

There is no difference in race there is one class and race, and that is fallen center. There is one solution for all people of all races and all class and that is the precious blood of Christ which is without value. You understand the gospel. Jesus told the haughty, because everything that God gave you his grace. This is number two. Don't such a rope sonnet.

Many of us base the security of our future on how strong your bank account. How secure are employment how stable our retirement plan is for many of you the idea of losing your retirement having your identity stolen. Losing your job. These are devastating thoughts to you right because that's where your security is money can buy you a $5000 mattress, but it cannot buy you rest it can buy you a house, but not a whole can buy you the latest toys but can't give you joy if you give you a comfortable retirement. But not give you ability to die peace with God, and you ultimately could not. All other second things all the things you were seeking your city restaurant enjoying seeking fulfillment seeking a stable family were seeking stability and not what you were after bosses on certain number come from Solomon with the richest man said the wealth of the rich is their fortified city cities where you find security if what you find.

Identity is what you make your home to the wealth of the riches of fortified city.supposed to be your fortified city.

God is supposed to be your significant God is supposed to be your security. What Jesus said is Matthew 624 one. The strong statements ever made about things like this.

You cannot serve God and money that does not scare you that verse in your Beltway not paying attention now. Jesus talks with rich people in the Gospels, which is what keeps everyone from Jesus and anything else.

Matthew 19 you got a guy who shows up in the rich young role was overqualified in every way to be one of Jesus's followers knows the Bible is moral leadership qualities, Jesus sees in his heart says no you can't follow because you love money more than male.

So everything you haven't, follow me the good mentor young man goes away sorrowful because while he loves Jesus you love money more, but he wants to depend on Jesus. He depends on money just as much and if you have to choose between the two is going to offer Juniper for money and then Jesus turns with disciples and makes a statement that ought to scare every person in this room almost to death, just truly, truly, it is easier for a camel to go to the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to go Jesus meant it is impossible for rich person to going to have been any says but it's possible with God, which means that only when God has done such a supernatural work in your heart that has ripped out the root of your soul for money and put it into God. That is the only way that your ever going to really follow him. It ought to scare you and make you ask.

Has that happened in March up before Jesus talks about the seeds of God's word: soil receives it there excited about it. They come back to hear it again. They love to hear good sermons. But it says then that the deceitfulness of riches, going up and choked out the seed of life is what happens.

Here's the thing.

The richer you get, the more danger you're in for 76 you fall under this then you realize that that's what's because there is a thing you'll see, right slowly, God is replaced as your source of significance and security. You probably never officially break up with God but your soul gets consumed by money you seek money more than God. You worry about money more than got you obey money more than God, the more money you get, the more it entangles the affections and trust of your heart. God ceases to be your city.

And money becomes that you and you made $18,000 a year you tied why because you knew the only way were to make it is for God to show up. John W.

Jim got his bar because I need God help make this work. What happens little by little, as your income increase. You quit depending on God and you start to say I got enough money and so you started to hang onto it because it was your like what and that's why now that you make much more than 18,000 percentagewise you give much less than when you did make 18,000. What is your God. Paul says, don't trust and don't feel like you know more than God. Don't let fear the future. Keep you from obeying God. That's what you're not to do with your money, but returned to tell you what you should do with your money. This personal phrase, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy your first big unexpected statement from the sermon. What is God what you do with your money and want you to enjoy. Why, because God the daddy. Daddy loves gives gifts. I love to give my children gifts about moment my kids new bike.

It brings me more pleasure than her. I'm confident on the lookout. The not met by my window and I see her shrieking up and down the street on the bike. She got a smile her face and I don't want to my heart because I might love to see her enjoy these gifts are our four-year-old three-year-old when I told you loves 11 per she is a princess par excellence and a girl. She changes outfits nine times a day in NC we bought a book we've all heard the rest of the day. I love to watch that girl just playing and careening around the house that it brings me joy, because I'm a dad. God loves for you to enjoy his good gifts God love for you to enjoy the blessings that he's giving you he is glorified when you bite into a succulent Ruth Chris steak in the goodness of God first alive in your mouth and discern a question I enjoy it one verse 18. They are to do good your money. You see, was given you as a tool for blessing. That's the reason God gave some of us a lot so that we could love and bless others. Richly the way that God does.

That's why God gave some of you a lot receipt wasn't.just poverty. He gives riches.

God made some of you poor so that you could glorify God by showing that God is better than money. God made some of you rich so that you could glorify God by giving like tedious most of you would please God put me in the rich category limit glorify you know if it's it's God's decision and God whatever situation you find yourself interested glorify him in eternity will make up for all the disparity but your forward your richer glorify God. Sometimes in different ways. But God gave a lot of you a lot because you want you to glorify him by resembling him and how you give so he says they are to be rich in good works, which is a wonderful play on words. God gave us richly.

So we should give to others richly to here's your question.

Are you rich in good works. Now don't you ask not what auto what's presented with the magic number. I know that you want that for me and I might give it to. I thought about this year and 1/2 and only doesn't take me that long to come up with a sermon that I been right mission for your nap. Here's what I've come up with.

How do you know if you give richly compare how you live that you give.

If I look at what you drive. If I look at what you dress in. If I look at where you live and then I compare that to what you gave which of those two what I slapped the phrase richly on are you living richly or are you giving richly following some you can probably say this, but I don't rob you have a problem is I probably got about $60,000 automobile. I really don't when he's giving richly you really like that is able to know whether to follow Jesus grabs the $2000 car because you know Jesus did have a place to lay his head. Yet Jesus also died on the cross for our sins on the hopper you want to go without. The point is that what Paul says that he gave to you. Once you rejoice. The question is not how you live it. Are you giving richly so I got I got a draw $60,000 automobile but give away $10,000 last year. God's mission in his church, but I'd say he's living richly and giving poorly.

But if he's giving richly and after giving richly he still got enough that he can choose to drive a $60,000 automobile, but I'd say just enjoy God's good guilty about it. Paul says to do to let you see the safety does not automobile. Immediately you judge the person of no real Christian would ever do that all you're doing is what I gave you at the beginning of judging people are two levels above you that's what you feel like that. The point is not for you. Enjoy the point is, are you giving richly we say around here. Based on this verse you should richly live sufficiently and after you've given richly surmise the enjoyment of your dollars to ensure you bring glory to God in the enjoyment, but live richly listening to some in line with teen career and a message titled generous.

Did you know that our greatest joy comes when we are working overtime to impress God when we are serving him from the place of gratitude. It's recognizing that he is the source of all that we are looking for. And as we pursue him, things fall into place in our new resource the gospel Bible study 81 test to see the difference maker is the gospel. It sounds amazing gift that God has given us doesn't merely punch our ticket to heaven actually drives everything to you, as believers, giving power to truly change for your gift of $50 this month. We'll send you this video Bible study that comes with five Bible study guide you in for friends can learn and grow together give us a call at 866-335-1520 or go online to JD Greer.com to reserve this Bible is the principle that a lot of Christians teach buffer your skull typing 10% of your income to get back to God that here's something that's in the Old Testament Old Testament and the reason watch.

The reason we will preach that is wall is because were not Old Testament where new test worn on the wall is a very complex system and it was but all these different things so we don't preach that is a law for Christians, but it is a principal that you start with but you want to get the firstfruits of what God gives you back to him. But here's what a lot of Christians go wrong as they look about like a checkbox that want to check that off and you fulfilled your duty. That's not the point. It's a guide for you to begin. But the point is to be like Jesus gave Jesus has wonderful verse that God hears my life recently.

Luke 638 just talked about.

This mentality will give it will be given to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over your lap with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you know will pass rustic on.

I have until about four days ago I had no idea what that meant. Writer Mike is talking on making a smoothie.

I will talk about, like, shaken together, shaken, not stirred over rocks, what are you talking about. Here's the image in the Jewish agricultural system workers go to the field and the pickup is grain screen them and cut down the basket because the workers were lazy and want to carry a heavy basket. So what they would do is they we just cannot you let a lot of sloppy in their disorder thrown at him like your service Salome bring it back.

That is not have but 5 o'clock wrapper the sun went down. It would allow poor people to come in about an hour to poor people, supportable medical law could glean anything they wanted know what these people do when they were going to the field because the poor mailing at one basketful is made they put that in there and after the first lawyer to stamp it down there shaking to get all the it's like you are going as Mongolian grills repay $6.01 bowl like that and so you see like 48 ft.³ of the food into that bold calamity basic, but you will deftly talk about. Let that be the mentality that you get with Mac 10%. So I filled up my bowl, but instead let me give it a way that I just see how much I can do, because I've been given richly to and I want to give. According to the measure that God has given to me you are you giving richly can say this if you think I'm talking about, given to the church to celebrate that for now. A lot of people believe the church and I'm here. My wife and I do give to the church's are three things we believe we ought to get to us Christians wants to the poor. One is to missions the others to our local church and what we realize is that our local church is one the best vehicles for all three of us okay and we can we give away about 24% of our budget last year about 24% of what we took him was given away to minister.

We have five groups almost orphan prisoner of about high school dropout you what the agencies that we work with.

We have vetted we make sure there a good investment. We make sure that they ministered about body and soul, so we feel good about giving you here because we know that that they give it welcome it missions.

We give all this money away to submissions. We know that that will work best in people that we have taken the time to evaluate but if you can't separate his generosity thing from from a lack of trust that that's okay. It really is.

It really is.

My bigger question here is our you giving richly and responsibly.

God is given richly to you with numbers. I think I want you to be generous he said and ready to share ready to share.

That means what that means, you created the capacity to be able to give a rats you created the capacity to be able to given the opportunity arises. Watch which is what we call firstfruits giving just two ways people give one we call firstfruits the other you call leftover leftover giving is when you get to the end of the mall you like how much lot access lab. I'll give out of that there's a problem. I never get to be in a multiply that all this money wasn't a I always expand my expenses to meet the amount of money that's in there. So what study after study they have done shows that a habit of rich people is that whatever this is not in question but whatever they do they give off the top sort of a safe, whatever they give generously. It's always the first word is what they do, they set it aside that'll Paul talking about you figure out what giving richly is figure out what you want to say and just take it right out at the very beginning. That's firstfruits. Otherwise you'll never have left her. And when you figure out. By the way, what you want to give richly.

Sometimes you have to sacrifice to get to that. My wife and I this is happened several years. We thought God put a percentage heart to give, we thought that's what it meant to give richly, but in order to get to give that percentage. We had a look at our budget and say okay what is there in this budget we ought to give ought to be able to get to this percentage there. There's years we cut out things are not wrong, not simple because you know God loves Russ to happen, but we said, in order to give richly want to give and do without this we can get this way my challenge to you figure out what giving richly looks like do that and then look at what you have left and say this is what I want to live up to go out no see. I just got this I can do without these nice things. Again, that's not true. You just got it will place where you can afford, and now they trump even obedience to God first. 19. Paul says, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life pulses help them to realize listen that real life is not found in the things of the money can buy real life is going to be found when they think about their lives, from the perspective of eternity. That's real life and that's where they really should be investing okay.

I will show you when my favorite authors in this government vetting of Randy Alcorn makes the statement, financial planners tell us when it comes your money don't just think three months or three years ahead of the financial planning always tell you you think some years ahead.

Christ the ultimate investment counselor takes apart. This is don't ask how your investment will be paying off in just 30 years.

Ask how your investment will be paid off in 30 million years to hear is the tragedy some of you are going to retire comfortably and then you go into your ultimate retirement with nothing because you have invested in eternity.

And you're going to die and stand before God having leverage all your life or your office is another kind of life which not only you enjoy eternity, see there's another kind of life that you even start to enjoy it now because it gives you a greater richness to your life. Money can give us all the/week Doug Hartline is a volunteer at our church has been for years but 10 years bigger longer that I have pre-much puts together all of the sound stuff that we do. He's the guy that on the durables park showed up on Saturday work all day stay late that night was there Sunday morning before any of us were held get all this work you got his headset on. It looks like he's an air traffic controller is making sure everything is happening fall behind the scenes you don't see it. I'm sitting there with him on the sidelines when the when the first song starts about 10 seconds. And that's all I look over Nazi dog's ear phones off, and he reaches this overwhelming moment is the body of Christ together is lifting Jesus up to see him this lump in his throat, and these tears in his eyes, tears coming down and it just struck me as I he invested the most he's enjoying this more than anybody right now because he seeing this spurred his soul as Jesus name is lifted up, that is a little picture of what can happen in eternity.

Some of your good to go in with nothing because you leveraged everything here and you're not going to be able to have an investment that pays off forever pulses.

What a tragedy.

She will Paulus explained he was this generous giving doesn't come by making you feel guilty and encumber servants. It columns by shifting your thinking fundamentally so that you no longer worship money is a God you worship Jesus is God, you begin to delight in his generosity to you and you become generous. The knowledge of use before us to tell you is like like it's just two ways to keep a balloon afloat give it as a regular area and it may only keep it up as they hit it. I told you that that's the relationship that I have some of you this every week you not not doing well spiritually. So you come in here. My role will write and that's not something I've generous.

All we longer get your foot for the next week you come down to Mike about something else. That's what you like me like some of it hits all the time. There's another way to float and that is helium is in the balloon afloat on its own.

The Gospels, what changes you internally to the generosity is comes naturally to you comes by understanding the gospel were my heroes in Christian history.

I Nicholas Bonds is endorsed by great start of the Moravian missionary movement and as a young man. His parents were really rich to the Senate for the finest education which included trip all these European cities where he could just get the best of European culture and one day when he was in the city of Bussell Dorff goes to this famous museum and he sees a very famous painting by getting faculty called at the home of which in Latin means. Behold, the man and it was a picture of Christ with a crown of thorns just looking out for is that they had put a inscription at the bottom of the painting that basically said this all this I have given for the what have you given to me and Zinzendorf with said that that that image was so overwhelming to him. There's a Christ who gave this for him. What was he giving back to Jesus. Some of you especially college students came here to go to school to get a job to make lots of money. My prayer is that while you're here, you will be presented without much where would you be without all this. He's given to you when you giving in response to what you can carry with you in response to the gospel and to return generosity is the mark treasure trust. Are you expecting money to fill that role in your life. That's our question today on Summit life with pastor and author JD Greer. We actually have a couple of resource options available to you this night when you generously support Summit life with a gift.

The first is based on something we call the gospel prayer and this prayer is all about our identity in Christ and to help these trees thinking we have a simple but called the gospel prayer catechism. We are sending a copy to all of our gospel partners in this mind thanking them for their ongoing monthly support. We are also featuring Pastor JDs gospel video curriculum that goes along with our teaching series. Each of the eight sessions begins with a video from Pastor JD and then based on that teaching don't open your study guide and Bible and work through the questions and prayers with your small group for a gift of $50 this month. We'll send you DVDs and five study guide to getting started call right now.

Our number is 866-335-5220 or you can always get online. JD Greer.com in addition to pastoring the summit church and teaching on this daily program also a best-selling author.

His books include asking Jesus into your heart gospel in his most recent just you can purchase a copy of these books from Summit my JD Greer.com I'm only encouraging you to join us next week when Pastor Janie addresses the question that I missed the next Summit my JD Greer